[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR2635.203]

[Page 546-548]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
                CHAPTER XVI--OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
 
PART 2635--STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart B--Gifts From Outside Sources
 
Sec. 2635.203  Definitions.

    For purposes of this subpart, the following definitions shall apply:
    (a) Agency has the meaning set forth in Sec. 2635.102(a). However, 
for purposes of this subpart, an executive department, as defined in 5 
U.S.C. 101, may, by supplemental agency regulation, designate as a 
separate agency any component of that department which the department 
determines exercises distinct and separate functions.
    (b) Gift includes any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, 
hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It 
includes services as well as gifts of training, transportation, local 
travel, lodgings and meals, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a 
ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been 
incurred. It does not include:
    (1) Modest items of food and refreshments, such as soft drinks, 
coffee and donuts, offered other than as part of a meal;
    (2) Greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value, such as 
plaques, certificates, and trophies, which are intended solely for 
presentation;

[[Page 547]]

    (3) Loans from banks and other financial institutions on terms 
generally available to the public;
    (4) Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates and 
commercial discounts, available to the public or to a class consisting 
of all Government employees or all uniformed military personnel, whether 
or not restricted on the basis of geographic considerations;
    (5) Rewards and prizes given to competitors in contests or events, 
including random drawings, open to the public unless the employee's 
entry into the contest or event is required as part of his official 
duties;
    (6) Pension and other benefits resulting from continued 
participation in an employee welfare and benefits plan maintained by a 
former employer;
    (7) Anything which is paid for by the Government or secured by the 
Government under Government contract;
    Note: Some airlines encourage those purchasing tickets to join 
programs that award free flights and other benefits to frequent fliers. 
Any such benefit earned on the basis of Government-financed travel 
belongs to the agency rather than to the employee and may be accepted 
only insofar as provided under 41 CFR 301-53.
    (8) Any gift accepted by the Government under specific statutory 
authority, including:
    (i) Travel, subsistence, and related expenses accepted by an agency 
under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 1353 in connection with an employee's 
attendance at a meeting or similar function relating to his official 
duties which takes place away from his duty station. The agency's 
acceptance must be in accordance with the implementing regulations at 41 
CFR part 304-1; and
    (ii) Other gifts provided in-kind which have been accepted by an 
agency under its agency gift acceptance statute; or
    (9) Anything for which market value is paid by the employee.
    (c) Market value means the retail cost the employee would incur to 
purchase the gift. An employee who cannot ascertain the market value of 
a gift may estimate its market value by reference to the retail cost of 
similar items of like quality. The market value of a gift of a ticket 
entitling the holder to food, refreshments, entertainment, or any other 
benefit shall be the face value of the ticket.

    Example 1: An employee who has been given an acrylic paperweight 
embedded with the corporate logo of a prohibited source may determine 
its market value based on her observation that a comparable acrylic 
paperweight, not embedded with a logo, generally sells for about $20.
    Example 2: A prohibited source has offered an employee a ticket to a 
charitable event consisting of a cocktail reception to be followed by an 
evening of chamber music. Even though the food, refreshments, and 
entertainment provided at the event may be worth only $20, the market 
value of the ticket is its $250 face value.
    (d) Prohibited source means any person who:
    (1) Is seeking official action by the employee's agency;
    (2) Does business or seeks to do business with the employee's 
agency;
    (3) Conducts activities regulated by the employee's agency;
    (4) Has interests that may be substantially affected by performance 
or nonperformance of the employee's official duties; or
    (5) Is an organization a majority of whose members are described in 
paragraphs (d) (1) through (4) of this section.
    (e) A gift is solicited or accepted because of the employee's 
official position if it is from a person other than an employee and 
would not have been solicited, offered, or given had the employee not 
held the status, authority or duties associated with his Federal 
position.
    Note: Gifts between employees are subject to the limitations set 
forth in subpart C of this part.
    Example 1: Where free season tickets are offered by an opera guild 
to all members of the Cabinet, the gift is offered because of their 
official positions.
    Example 2: Employees at a regional office of the Department of 
Justice (DOJ) work in Government-leased space at a private office 
building, along with various private business tenants. A major fire in 
the building during normal office hours causes a traumatic experience 
for all occupants of the building in making their escape, and it is the 
subject of widespread news coverage. A corporate hotel chain, which does 
not meet the definition of a prohibited source for DOJ, seizes the 
moment and announces that it will give a free night's lodging to all 
building occupants and their families, as a public goodwill gesture. 
Employees of DOJ may accept, as this gift is

[[Page 548]]

not being given because of their Government positions. The donor's 
motivation for offering this gift is unrelated to the DOJ employees' 
status, authority or duties associated with their Federal position, but 
instead is based on their mere presence in the building as occupants at 
the time of the fire.

    (f) A gift which is solicited or accepted indirectly includes a 
gift:
    (1) Given with the employee's knowledge and acquiescence to his 
parent, sibling, spouse, child, or dependent relative because of that 
person's relationship to the employee, or
    (2) Given to any other person, including any charitable 
organization, on the basis of designation, recommendation, or other 
specification by the employee, except as permitted for the disposition 
of perishable items by Sec. 2635.205(a)(2) or for payments made to 
charitable organizations in lieu of honoraria under Sec. 2636.204 of 
this chapter.
    Example 1: An employee who must decline a gift of a personal 
computer pursuant to this subpart may not suggest that the gift be given 
instead to one of five charitable organizations whose names are provided 
by the employee.

    (g) Vendor promotional training means training provided by any 
person for the purpose of promoting its products or services. It does 
not include training provided under a Government contract or by a 
contractor to facilitate use of products or services it furnishes under 
a Government contract.

[57 FR 35042, Aug. 7, 1992, as amended at 60 FR 51667, Oct. 3, 1995; 63 
FR 69993, Dec. 18, 1998; 64 FR 2422, Jan. 14, 1999]