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By John P. Mahoney
Americans are expected to spend an estimated $465.6 billion this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. For many consumers, a chunk of the average $704 they expected to spend on gifts and seasonal merchandise will probably go toward Secret Santa exchanges and other presents for people back at the office. For federal employees, however, giving gifts to co-workers and receiving gifts from them or outside parties can be precarious activity.
As hard as it is to say “No thank you” to a holiday gift offered from someone with whom federal employees have a professional relationship, it is sometimes in their best interest to do so. Otherwise, they might want to put a consultation with a federal employment attorney on their wish list. Executive branch employees who violate the standards for ethical conduct pertaining to gifts from outside sources (5 CFR § 2635.201-§ 2635.205) and gifts between employees (5 CFR § 2635.301-§ 2635.304) could face severe penalties including suspension or removal.
The federal government is not a complete Scrooge during the holidays. There are exemptions to its prohibitions on gifts. Federal employees first need to be cognizant that not all gifts need to be wrapped. Gifts include anything of monetary value, such as any favor, gratuity, loan, or forbearance. They also include any service, entertainment, greeting card, ticket, lodging, meal, transportation or advanced payment.
As a general rule of thumb, federal employees should refrain from accepting gifts from people who are considered “prohibited sources” or who want to give them something solely because their official position. A prohibited source, as defined by 5 CFR § 2635.203(d), is someone whose gift could create pose a conflict of interest if accepted, namely anyone who:
- wants the employee’s agency to do something;
- has an existing or desired business with the employee’s agency;
- is regulated by the employee’s agency;
- could be impacted by the work the employee conducts; or
- is a member of an organization whose members are largely refrained from giving the gift to the employee for the above-stated reasons.
Under 5 CFR § 2635.204(a), federal employees can generally accept unsolicited gifts with a market value of up to $20 per giver, per occasion. However, employees must keep track of how much someone gives them on separate occasions over the year, because the aggregate market value of gift they are permitted to accept cannot exceed $50 annually. Additionally, there are exemptions for gifts between employees who also have family relationship or personal friendship.
Employees who want to give a gift to an official superior have an excuse for being cheap. Under 5 CFR § 2635.304(a), the market value of items they can occasionally give to an official superior is capped at $10. They can also give food or beverages made available to other employees or personal hospitality provided at an employee’s home, such as a bottle of (not overly expensive) wine.
These gift restrictions are in place so federal employees do not feel pressured into giving expensive gifts to their superiors or so they do not attempt to curry favorable treatment from higher-ups with such presents. The rules also shield the federal government from the improper influence of outside parties. It is not uncommon for federal employees in the Washington, D.C. area to stray from these rules despite their best intentions. Civil service workers facing disciplinary actions over gifts the accepted or gave should immediately contact a Washington, D.C. federal employee rights attorney.
John P. Mahoney, a partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC in Washington D.C., focuses on representing federal employees, contractors, agencies, unions, and employee associations in federal sector labor, employment, discrimination, and national security law. He can be reached at jmahoney@fedattorney.com.
