More Information On The Definition Of Practicing A Profession
You might be wondering what exactly does "practicing a profession mean" according to 5 C.F.R. 2636.305 (b)(1). According to the regulation:
Profession means a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical or scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods. It is characteristic of a profession that those in the profession, through force of organization or concerted opinion, establish and maintain high standards of achievement and conduct, and commit its practitioners to continued study of the field. Consulting and advising with respect to subject matter that is generally regarded as the province of practitioners of a profession shall be considered a profession.
Profession which involves a fiduciary relationship means a profession in which the nature of the services provided causes the recipient of those services to place a substantial degree of trust and confidence in the integrity, fidelity and specialized knowledge of the practitioner. Such professions are not limited to those whose practitioners are legally defined as fiduciaries and include practitioners in such areas as law, insurance, medicine, architecture, financial services and accounting. A covered noncareer employee who is uncertain whether a particular field of endeavor is a profession which involves a fiduciary relationship may request an advisory opinion under 5 C.F.R. 2636.103.
Example 1. In view of the standards of the profession which require a licensed real estate broker to act in the best interests of his clients, the selling of real estate by a licensed broker involves the practice of a profession involving a fiduciary relationship.
Example 2. A covered noncareer employee may receive the customary fee for serving as the executor of his mother's estate, provided he does not violate the applicable limitation on the amount of outside earned income he may receive. Although the executor of an estate has fiduciary obligations, serving as an executor in these circumstances does not involve the practice of a profession and, therefore, is not prohibited. He could not, however, serve for compensation as attorney for the estate.
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