Daily printout: Dec. 2

The Postal Service has released its 2025 Holiday Ethics Guide to help employees adhere to federal regulations involving workplace gifting and get-togethers.

Here are some general rules found in the guide:

• Gifts between employees. A gift to a manager or higher-level employee must be noncash and valued at $10 or less. A gift to a subordinate or a lower-level employee is not subject to limits, but the giver should be mindful of any perception of favoritism.

Group gifts or collections are not permitted during the holiday season.

“Secret Santa” or “white elephant” gift exchanges are allowed, but participation must be voluntary and the noncash gifts must cost $10 or less.

Office parties and potlucks are permissible if employee participation and contributions are voluntary. Employees who do not contribute can still attend.

• Gifts from outside sources. Employees cannot solicit or coerce a gift from a customer but can accept a noncash gift valued at $20 or less if the total value of gifts from a single customer in a calendar year does not exceed $50.

An employee must return a gift to the sender or pay its fair market value if it is valued at more than $20. If the gift is perishable, the receiving employee can share the gift with colleagues or donate it.

Employees can never accept cash or cash equivalents such as Zelle, Venmo or credit card-branded gift cards.

Employees who have questions should email the USPS Ethics Office or call 202-268-6346. The Ethics Blue Page has additional information on gifts from outside sources and gifts between employees.

December kicks off with two red-letter days for the Combined Federal Campaign.

It begins with Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2, the most important day of the year for many of the campaign’s charities. Some rely on this one day to fund an entire year’s worth of services.

Friday, Dec. 5, is International Volunteer Day, which the United Nations began in 1985 to recognize people who use their time and talent to support charitable organizations.

The campaign uses this day to remind federal employees that they can donate volunteer hours for charities in addition to, or instead of, making monetary donations.

The Combined Federal Campaign, also known as the CFC, is the federal government’s largest workplace charity drive.

The Postal Service’s goal is to raise $3 million this year.

Pledges can be made through payroll deduction, on paper or online through the CFC mobile app.

The campaign will conclude Wednesday, Dec. 31.

Employees with questions can email the Postal Service’s CFC team.

The Postal Service wants employees to understand the four types of health plans available during this year’s open season.

The plan types are:

• Health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, that provide care from in-network physicians and hospitals located in particular geographic or service areas;

• Preferred provider organizations, or PPOs, that offer fee-for-service plans that allow you to choose physicians, hospitals and other health care providers both inside and outside of a network;

• Consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs, that give users freedom in spending health care dollars and offer plan-funded health reimbursement arrangements that may be used to pay certain upfront medical costs; and

• High-deductible health plans, or HDHPs, that offer comprehensive coverage for high-cost medical procedures and a tax break to save for future medical expenses through health savings accounts.

USPS is encouraging employees to learn about the available plans to find one that best fits their needs.

This year’s open season runs through Monday, Dec. 8.

The MyHR website’s open season page has additional information, as well as a link to Checkbook’s Guide to PSHB Plans, a resource that can help employees evaluate and compare specific plans.

The Postal Service is reminding employees and contractors that online shopping scams are a widespread threat during the holiday season.

Follow these tips to avoid being scammed:

• Choose secure, trusted websites. When buying gifts or donating to a charity, make sure the URL begins with “https://” and look for a closed padlock icon in the address bar. Misspellings, grammatical errors or numeric addresses in the website domain could indicate the site is fraudulent.

• Use a secure payment method. Credit cards protect against theft more than debit cards. Monitor your account statements for unauthorized charges.

• Ignore popup ads. Deals seemingly too good to be true can lead to fraudulent sites that steal your personal information.

• Slow down. Be suspicious of urgent messages and requests to act quickly.

• Beware of suspicious links. Do not click on links from unsolicited emails or text messages.

• Report scams. If you’ve been scammed, contact the FBI’s online Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The CyberSafe at USPS Blue and LiteBlue pages have more information.