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The following
reminders are provided to assist you in making
the appropriate ethical decisions as the traditional
holiday season approaches.
Gifts between Employees
Supervisors must guard against
the appearance of favoritism, even though regulations
state that there are no restrictions on gifts
between peers or from superiors to subordinates.
While supervisors are generally barred from accepting
gifts from subordinates, the regulations provide
a number of exceptions. For example, subordinates
may:
- Share expenses for food and
refreshments for an office party;
- Offer traditional levels of
hospitality in their personal residence. For
example, hosting a dinner party or bringing
a gift, such as wine and/or flowers, to a dinner
party;
- Give gifts, suitable to the
occasion, in recognition of infrequently occurring
occasions of personal significance such as marriage,
illness, or the birth or adoption of a child;
- Give items, other than cash,
with an aggregate market value up to $10.00
per occasion.
Gifts from Outside Sources
An employee shall not solicit
a gift from a prohibited source1
or use his or her position as a basis to
solicit a gift from any source. Generally, unsolicited
gifts voluntarily offered either from prohibited
sources or because of the position held by the
recipient are also prohibited. Employees may,
however, accept:
- Greeting cards and trinkets
of little intrinsic value (such as promotional
items);
- Gifts valued at $20.00 or less
and not aggregating more than $50.00 per annum
from the same source if the acceptance does
not present the reality or appearance that the
gift is in response to an official act benefiting
the giver;
- Gifts based upon a family relationship
or close personal relationship.
Attendance at Outside Holiday
Parties and Receptions
Holiday season hospitality offered
by prohibited sources is governed by the same
general rule as is applied to gifts, with the
following exceptions:
- The value of refreshments
does not breech the $20 per occurrence and $50
annual caps;
- The event is an open-house
type of reception-free to a broad class of individuals,
such as all government employees;
- The reception is a "widely
attended" gathering attended by a large
and diverse group of persons and your attendance
is cleared with your Agency Ethics Advisor;
- Your attendance is to accompany
your spouse, whose invitation stems from the
spouse's activities and is unrelated to your
USDA position; or
- The basis of your invitation
is clearly unrelated to your USDA position.
For example, a holiday party hosted by a former
employer.
Office Parties
There are few explicit rules governing
office parties. Goodwill moderated by common sense
and concern for public perception should rule.
However, please remember:
- Do not use appropriated funds
for refreshments, and do not solicit refreshments,
door prizes or any other items of value from
outside sources.
- Granting administrative leave
for the duration of a duty-hours event does
not mean that overtime is to be afforded for
an after-duty-hours event.
The above are the basic
rules governing gifts and gatherings. Therefore,
if you have questions or encounter situations
not covered by this memorandum, please contact
your supervisor. Supervisors with inquiries should
contact the Agency Ethics Office at 504-426-0308
or 504-426-0344 or view the appropriate training
modules at http://www.usda-ethics.net/training/index.htm.
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