Under federal ethics rules, managers can be Santa Clauses this holiday season, but their subordinates have to be Scrooges.
Ethics rules allow managers to give gifts to their employees, but frown on workers bestowing presents on their bosses. Similarly, employees shouldn't ask co-workers to contribute money toward a group gift for the boss. The ethics rules aim to prevent a situation in which an employee feels that failing to give the boss a gift would result in career damage.
The ethics rules do allow a little bit of holiday kindness toward bosses. During the holidays, employees are allowed to give their superiors:
- Non-cash gifts valued at $10 or less;
- Food and other refreshments shared in the office; and
- Invitations to personal parties "of a type and value customarily provided by the employee to personal friends."
But ethics rules don't limit managers' giving gifts to employees, since there's no concern that a manager's job would be adversely affected if he or she didn't hand out presents.
Mary Braden, director of the Justice Department's ethics office, said supervisors should follow good management principles and not favor some employees over others during the holiday season. But managers don't have to worry about violating ethics rules if they decide to give tokens of appreciation.
Braden's office has created a comprehensive Web site explaining federal ethics rules, including gift-giving limitations. The site also links directly to the governmentwide ethics regulations.