POLICY-REMINDER		   
						   


Subject: Holiday Reminder - Rules on Accepting Gifts of 
	 Entertainment and Attending Certain Widely Attended  	 
	 Gatherings

In all cases, employees are expected to exercise good judgment in 
accepting food, refreshment, or entertainment during the upcoming 
holiday season.  It is never inappropriate for an employee to 
decline a gift from any source, and you are encouraged to consider 
every situation carefully when contemplating the acceptance of a 
gift under one of the exceptions discussed in this notice.

The general rule on gifts is that employees may not accept food, 
refreshments, entertainment, or any other thing of value from a 
prohibited source, or from a person or entity offering the gift 
because of the employee's position.  A "prohibited source" includes 
any person or entity seeking or doing business with the Agency.

As the holidays approach, it is important to keep this rule in mind. 
But it is also important to understand certain exceptions to the 
rule which may apply.

The general rule against accepting gifts does not apply to modest 
items of food, refreshments, and entertainment. Employees may 
accept a gift from a prohibited source, provided the gift does not 
exceed $20 in value per occasion, and provided the aggregate value 
of such gifts from any one source does not exceed $50 in a calendar 
year.  Thus, it would be appropriate, for example, for an employee 
to attend a holiday party hosted by a prohibited source and accept 
a meal, food, drinks, and other entertainment with a maximum value 
of $20 or less.  If it is over $20, the employee should decline or 
pay the full value of the gift.

Another exception relates to official attendance and participation 
in "certain widely attended gatherings" hosted by prohibited sources.  
Under the Standards of Conduct, "widely attended gatherings" are 
specific types of events which, for example, are open to members 
throughout a given industry or profession, or which are attended by 
a wide range of persons with mutual interests in a given matter.

An employee may attend a widely attended gathering only when 
there has been an advance determination by an ethics official, 
in consultation with other appropriate Agency officials, that the 
employee's attendance would further specific interests related to 
USAID's programs and operations.

The determination of Agency interests and approval for attendance 
must be made in advance of an employee's attendance at such an 
event.  If an employee has official duties that could substantially 
affect the interests of the host of such an event, the regulations 
require the advance determination to be made in writing.  

For any case involving the widely-attended gathering exception, 
please contact __________________________ as soon as possible so 
that the proper processing may be completed in time for your 
attendance.   

For more information on gifts, you may review the Agency's Ethics 
Web site at: http://xyz.com.

For more information on the Agency widely attended gathering 
procedure, please review the Agency Notice on this subject at: 
http://abc.gov.

Point of Contact:  Any questions concerning this Notice may be 
directed to: ___________________________________________.