§ 7351. Gifts to superiors

(a) An employee may not—

(1) solicit a contribution from another employee for a gift to an official superior;

(2) make a donation as a gift or give a gift to an official superior; or

(3) accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay than himself.

(b) An employee who violates this section shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action by the employing agency or entity.

(c) Each supervising ethics office (as defined in section 7353(d)(1)) is authorized to issue regulations implementing this section, including regulations exempting voluntary gifts or contributions that are given or received for special occasions such as marriage or retirement or under other circumstances in which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 101–194, title III, § 301, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1745; Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(a), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 157.)

Historical And Revision

Historical and Revision Notes
Derivation	U.S. Code	Revised Statutes and Statutes at Large
	5 U.S.C. 113.	R.S. § 1784.

The application of the section is confined to employees, since the President and Members of Congress, though officers, could not have been intended to be “summarily discharged”, and members of uniformed services are not covered by this statute. In the last sentence, the word “removed” is substituted for “summarily discharged” because of the provisions of the Lloyd-LaFollette Act, 37 Stat. 555, as amended, and the Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944, 58 Stat. 387, as amended, which are carried into this title.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Amendments

Amendments

1990—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(a)(1), inserted “or give a gift” after “donation as a gift”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(a)(2), substituted “Each supervising ethics office (as defined in section 7353(d)(1))” for “The Office of Government Ethics” and “circumstances in which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged” for “similar circumstances”.

1989—Pub. L. 101–194 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out “An employee who violates this section shall be removed from the service.” at end, and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

Miscellaneous

Inapplicability to Transfers of Unused Accrued Annual Leave by Federal Employees; Exception

Pub. L. 100–284, Apr. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 81, provided: “That, except as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe, nothing in section 7351 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply with respect to a solicitation, donation, or acceptance of leave under any program under which, during the fiscal year ending on September 30, 1988, unused accrued annual leave of officers or employees of the Federal Government may be transferred for use by other officers or employees who need such leave due to a personal emergency.”