Daily printout: June 23

The Postal Service is reminding employees that outside activities such as supplemental employment, teaching, speaking, writing and fundraising should never conflict with their official USPS duties.

Some outside activities are prohibited while others require prior approval from the USPS Ethics Office.

Outside employment with companies that deliver mailable matter, such as Amazon, FedEx, UPS and DHL, is prohibited. However, with prior approval from the USPS Ethics Office, postal employees can work for Amazon subsidiaries such as Whole Foods, Audible and Twitch.

Postal Service employees cannot work for commercial mail-receiving agencies such as the UPS Store and FedEx Office.

Employees can teach an established curriculum at a university, high school or elementary school, but they cannot be paid from an outside source for teaching, speaking or writing about their postal duties.

In general, employees cannot engage in outside fundraising or sales while working. The Combined Federal Campaign is the only charitable fundraising permitted in the Postal Service workplace.

But, while off-duty, employees can participate in charitable fundraising if they don’t use their USPS title and USPS equipment, and if they don’t invite subordinate employees to participate or donate.

Outside employment with companies or individuals having a contract with the Postal Service requires prior approval from the Ethics Office. Likewise, prior approval is needed for outside employment or business activities with or for a person whose interests substantially depend on USPS fees, rates or classifications.

Employees with questions should email the Ethics Office or call 202-268-6346. The Outside Activities page on Blue has more information.

The Postal Service recently released the Bald Eagle: Hatchling to Adult stamps set featuring five realistic illustrations of the bird at stages of life from 1 week old to mature bird of prey.

Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using naturalistic paintings by ornithologist and illustrator David Allen Sibley. Known for his detailed depictions of birds and guidebooks on avian wildlife, the stamps are his first project for the Postal Service.

“Distilling the variation in bald eagles into five postage stamps was very tricky — which life stages to show, what poses to use, or whether to show the whole bird or just a part,” Sibley said in an interview when asked about his approach to capturing the stages of a bald eagle’s life.

In the interview, Sibley traces his interest in birds as a boy to his current work and described his artwork being displayed on the stamps as “a great honor.”

The full interview is available on the USPS Stamps Forever website.

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