Michelle Litteken was recently quoted by Bloomberg Government Federal Contracts Report in their recent article “Raytheon’s Win in Conflicts Case Serves as a Vetting Reminder.” When asked about screening federal contract employees and preventing conflicts of interest, Ms. Litteken responded, “Contractors should gain an understanding of the new employee’s prior level of authority and obtain the employee’s former job description,’’ she said. ‘‘Contractors should also obtain a copy of the employee’s ethics opinion if one was prepared by the former employee. ‘‘New employees may need to be firewalled from activities for which they have competitively useful nonpublic information,’’ she added. In some situations, ‘‘a contractor may want to have the new employee sign representations and certifications regarding the information provided,’’ she said. ‘‘Additionally, it cannot be forgotten that former federal employees are often subject to post-employment restrictions that limit what the employee can do in the private sector.’’ (Federal Contracts Report, 108 FCR, 10/31/17)
Michelle Litteken is an associate with PilieroMazza in the Government Contracting and Litigation law groups. She may be reached at [email protected].