What Your Indiana Mail Carrier Can and Cannot Accept as a Holiday Gift
Before you leave a gift for your mail carrier, make sure it won't get them in trouble!
Tis the Season for Gifting and Giving
For many people, it's a holiday tradition to give a gift to those who make our lives a little easier - like trash collectors, delivery drivers, and mail carriers. However, there are some pretty strict guidelines regarding what some of those people are and are not allowed to accept as a gift.
Do You Leave Gifts for Your Delivery Driver & Mail Carrier?
I have a friend who sets out a lovely little basket on her porch this time of year to offer bottled water and snacks to those delivering holiday packages. I have another friend who tapes a Christmas card, with a gift card inside, to the top of her trash can for the man who collects her trash each week.
Tipping and Gift-Giving Guidelines
While both are wonderful gestures, tipping and gifting can get a little tricky. In fact, there are some rules and regulations that you may not know, especially when it comes to leaving a gift for a United States Postal carrier, not just in Indiana but across the country. It turns out the U.S. government has some pretty strict guidelines when it comes to its employees receiving tips and gifts.
Ethical Code of Conduct and Holiday Gifts for USPS Workers
Like most employers, the USPS has rules and guidelines that are enforced as part of a person's employment. Since they are a US government employer, the USPS follows what is called the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.
What Can a Postal Carrier Accept as a Gift?
Before you go slipping a couple of crisp twenty dollar bills into a holiday card for your mail carrier, let's take a look at what those Standards of Ethical Conduct dictate when it comes to accepting gifts. It turns out, that your mail carrier can only accept a gift valued up to $20 per occasion. They also are not allowed to accept cash or anything with a redeemable cash value like a gift card issued by a credit card company or a bank, and they are only allowed to accept up to $50 worth of gifts per customer per calendar year.
All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period.
What Can You Gift to Your Postal Carrier?
If you wish to gift something to your postal carrier, the code of conduct suggests "modest items of food and non-alcoholic refreshments, such as soft drinks, coffee and donuts, offered other than as part of a meal." It is also permissible to gift a greeting card, or a gift card for a coffee shop or restaurant, again, as long as the value is $20 or less.
Happy gifting!
[Source: USPS.com; US Office of Government Ethics]
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