The Postal Service wants employees to remember the federal regulations on exchanging gifts with co-workers.
To prevent someone from trying to gain the favor of management, an employee cannot accept a gift from a lesser-paid employee.
There are exceptions:
• On regularly occurring occasions, such as holidays and birthdays, an employee can give a higher-level or higher-paid employee, including their manager, a noncash gift valued at $10 or less.
• On special or infrequent occasions, such as the birth or adoption of a child, retirement, marriage, serious illness or bereavement, an employee can give a gift of any value to a higher-level or higher-paid employee if the gift is appropriate for the occasion. Group gifts, including cash, are permitted if individual contributions are voluntary and $10 or less.
• An employee can give a gift of any value to a higher-level or higher-paid employee if they have a personal relationship that justifies the gift and the employee does not report to the person receiving the gift.
A manager who makes less pay than a subordinate can give that employee a gift of any amount on any occasion, but the manager should avoid the appearance of favoritism.
More information is available on Blue.
Employees with questions can email the USPS Ethics Office or call 202-268-6346.
