Regulations last checked for updates: Jun 01, 2024
Title 45 - Public Welfare last revised: May 28, 2024
§ 73.735-501 - Prohibited acceptance of gifts, entertainment, and favors.
(a) Except as provided in §§ 73.735-502 and 73.735-506, an employee shall not directly or indirectly solicit or accept anything of monetary value, including gifts, gratuities, favors, entertainment or loans from a person who the employee knows, or should know because of the nature of the employee's work:
(1) Has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employee's principal operating component, or sub-unit thereof; or with a component of the Department with respect to which the employee has official duties;
(2) Conducts operations or activities that are regulated by the employee's principal operating component, or sub-unit thereof or by a component of the Department with respect to which the employee has official duties; or
(3) Has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or non-performance of the employee's official duties.
(b) Employees may not designate a person or an organization, including charitable or non-profit organizations, to accept any gift which an employee is prohibited from accepting directly.
§ 73.735-502 - Permissible acceptance of gifts, entertainment, and favors.
(a) An employee may accept a gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or similar favor of monetary value which stems from a family relationship such as that between the employee and his or her parents, spouse or children, if it is clear that the relationship is the motivating factor.
(b) Loans from banks or other financial institutions may be accepted on customary terms.
(c) Unsolicited advertising or promotional material such as pens, note pads, calendars and similar items of nominal intrinsic value may be accepted.
(d) An employee may accept food or refreshment of nominal value on infrequent occasions in the ordinary course of a luncheon or dinner meeting or on an inspection tour only if the employee is properly in attendance and there is not a reasonable opportunity to pay.
Example 1:Employee is on the premises of Company participating in a meeting at a normal mealtime. A representative of Company provides a meal for all meeting participants from a Company facility and there is no established method for payment. Employee may accept.
Example 2:Employee is on the premises of Company and he or she goes outside for lunch with a representative of the Company. The representative offers to pay the bill. Since it is practical for the employee to pay for his or her own meal, the employee may not accept.
(e) An employee may also accept food or refreshment of nominal value on infrequent occasions if the food and/or refreshment is offered to all participants or attendees of a meeting or convention.
Example 1:During the course of a convention of a professional organization a luncheon open to all attendees is sponsored by a corporation which conducts business with the Department and the employee has official dealings with representatives of the corporation. The employee may attend the luncheon.
§ 73.735-503 - Criminal provisions relating to gifts, entertainment, and favors.
(a) The law provides criminal penalties for whoever, directly or indirectly:
(1) Receives or accepts anything of value for or because of any official act the employee has performed or will perform; or
(2) Gives, offers or promises anything of value for the performance of an official act or to influence the performance of an official act. 18 USC 201.
(b) The law prohibits an employee from receiving any salary or any contribution to, or supplementation of, his or her salary as compensation for services as an officer or employee of the Government from any source other than the United States or any State, county or municipality. This law does not prohibit an employee from continuing to participate in a bona fide pension, retirement, group life, health or accident insurance, profit-sharing, stock bonus or other employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former employer. 18 U.S.C. 209.
Example 1:A corporate executive is asked to accept a position in the Department. The corporation offers to continue to pay the executive the difference between his or her salary as a Government employee and that received by an employee of the corporation. Such payment would be considered to be “compensation for” the employee's Government service and is prohibited.
Example 2:A corporate executive is asked to accept a position in the Department. The corporation proposes to pay him or her a special severance payment in anticipation of this or her serving in the Government. This proposal would be prohibited because there is no distinction between the proposed lump-sum payment and the prohibited continuation of salary payments described in the example above.
Example 3:A corporate executive is asked to accept a position in the Department. The corporation has an established policy which provides for an amount of severance pay to be paid any departing executive and proposes to make payment based on that policy when the executive leaves. The executive may accept the payment. Under these circumstances it is clear that the severance pay is in payment for past services not in anticipation of the future services for the Government.
§ 73.735-504 - Gifts to official superiors.
An employee shall not solicit a contribution from another employee for a gift to an official superior, make a donation as a gift to an official superior, or accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay than himself or herself. 5 U.S.C. 7351. This section does not prohibit a voluntary gift of nominal value or donation in nominal amount made on a special occasion such as marriage, illness or retirement.
§ 73.735-505 - Acceptance of awards and prizes.
(a) Employees may accept awards, including cash awards, given in recognition of a meritorious public contribution or achievement. However, if there is any indication that the award may improperly influence the employee in the performance of his or her offical duties, advice about the acceptance of it should be sought from a deputy ethics counselor. Also, an employee may not accept an award from an organization which the employee knows, or should know, has a contractual or other business arrangement with, or is regulated by, the principal operating component, or a sub-unit, in which he or she is employed or with respect to which the employee has official duties, unless acceptance is approved by the head of the employee's principal operating component. The head of the component may not approve acceptance unless he or she is satisfied that no actual conflict of interest would result.
(b) Employees may generally accept trophies, entertainment, rewards, and prizes given to competitors in contests or events which are open to the public.
(c) Employees may not accept gifts, awards, decorations or other things of value from a foreign government except as provided in § 73.735-506.
§ 73.735-506 - Gifts and decorations from foreign governments.
(a) An employee may not request or otherwise encourage the tender of a gift or decorations from a foreign government or official thereof.
(b) An employee may accept from a foreign government:
(1) A gift which is in the nature of medical treatment or an educational scholarship;
(2) A tangible gift of minimal value tendered or received as a mark of courtesy; (“Minimal value” means a retail value in the United States at the time of acceptance of not more than one hundred dollars, unless the Administrator of the General Services Administration adjusts the value by regulation.) or
(3) A tangible gift of more than minimal value when it appears that to refuse the gift would be likely to cause offense or embarrassment or otherwise adversely affect the foreign relations of the United States. However, the acceptance of such a gift would be on behalf of the United States and the gift would become the property of the United States. See the Department's General Administration Manual, Chapter 20-25 for information regarding the disposition of a gift accepted under these circumstances.
(c) An employee may also accept from a foreign government gifts of travel or expenses for travel (such as transportation, food and lodging) that take place entirely outside the United States and are of more than minimal value, if such acceptance is consistent with the interests of the United States and is approved by the travel approving authority in accordance with the Department's Travel Manual. See General Administration Manual, Chapter 20-25 for a requirement to report such travel.
(d) An employee may accept, retain, and wear a decoration tendered in recognition of active field service in time of combat operations or awarded for other outstanding or unusually meritorious performance, subject to the approval of the Secretary or his or her designee.
(e) Members of an employee's family and household are also subject to the regulations in this section. A member of an employee's family and household is a relative by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of the household. However, if a member of an employee's family and household is employed by another agency of the Government, the offer or acceptance of a gift shall be treated under the regulations of that agency.
(f) For purposes of this section “foreign government” means:
(1) Any unit of foreign government authority including any foreign national, state, local and municipal government;
(2) Any international or multinational organization whose membership is composed of any unit of foreign government described in paragraph (f)(1) of this section; or
(3) Any agent or representative of any such unit or organization when acting as such agent or representative. (5 U.S.C. 7342)
§ 73.735-507 - Acceptance of travel and subsistence.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, employees may accept accommodations, subsistence, and travel in cash or in kind in connection with official travel for attendance at meetings, conferences, training in non-Governmental facilities or for performing advisory services, if approved in accordance with the provisions of the HHS Travel Manual. (5 U.S.C. 4111; 42 U.S.C. 3506)
(b) Employees may not accept accommodations, subsistence, or travel in cash or in kind in connection with official travel from a non-Governmental source with which they have official dealings unless Government or commercial travel and/or accommodations are not available. If travel and/or subsistence is accepted for official travel under these circumstances, such acceptance and the basis for it must be reported in writing to the Head of the Principal Operating Component or Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget for the Office of the Secretary.
§ 73.735-508 - Other prohibitions.
Employees shall avoid any action whether or not specifically prohibited by this part, which might result in or create the appearance of:
(a) Using public office for private gain;
(b) Giving preferential treatment to any person;
(c) Impeding Government efficiency or economy;
(d) Losing complete independence or impartiality in the performance of their Government duties;
(e) Making a Government decision outside official channels; or
(f) Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the Government.
source: 46 FR 7369, Jan. 23, 1981, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 45 CFR 73.735-508