Complete Home & Office Legal Guide/Complete Home and Office Legal Guide (Chestnut) (1993).ISO/stat/fed/cfr2635b.asc

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2635.105 Supplemental agency regulations.

 In addition to the regulations set forth in this part, an
employee shall comply with any supplemental agency regulations
issued by his employing agency under this section.

 (a) An agency that wishes to supplement this part shall
prepare and submit to the Office of Government Ethics, for its
concurrence and joint issuance, any agency regulations that
supplement the regulations contained in this part. Supplemental
agency regulations which the agency determines are necessary and
appropriate, in view of its programs and operations, to fulfill
the purposes of this part shall be:


 (1) In the form of a supplement to the regulations in this
part; and

 (2) In addition to the substantive provisions of this
part.

 (b) After concurrence and co-signature by the Office of
Government Ethics, the agency shall submit its supplemental
agency regulations to the Federal Register for publication and
codification at the expense of the agency in title 5 of the Code
of Federal Regulations. Supplemental agency regulations issued
under this section are effective only after concurrence and
co-signature by the Office of Government Ethics and publication
in the Federal Register.

 (c) This section applies to any supplemental agency
regulations or amendments thereof issued under this part. It does
not apply to:

 (1) A handbook or other issuance intended merely as an
explanation of the standards contained in this part or in
supplemental agency regulations;

 (2) An instruction or other issuance the purpose of which
is to:

 (i) Delegate to an agency designee authority to make any
determination, give any approval or take any other action
required or permitted by this part or by supplemental agency
regulations; or

 (ii) Establish internal agency procedures for documenting
or processing any determination, approval or other action
required or permitted by this part or by supplemental agency
regulations, or for retaining any such documentation; or

 (3) Regulations or instructions that an agency has
authority, independent of this part, to issue, such as
regulations implementing an agency's gift acceptance statute,
protecting categories of nonpublic information or establishing
standards for use of Government vehicles. Where the content of
any such regulations or instructions was included in the agency's
standards of conduct regulations issued pursuant to Executive
Order 11222 and the Office of Government Ethics concurs that they
need not be issued as part of an agency's supplemental agency
regulations, those regulations or instructions may be promulgated
separately from the agency's supplemental agency regulations.

2635.106 Disciplinary and corrective action.

 (a) Except as provided in 2635.107, a violation of this
part or
of supplemental agency regulations may be cause for appropriate
corrective or disciplinary action to be taken under applicable
Governmentwide regulations or agency procedures. Such action may
be in addition to any action or penalty prescribed by law.

 (b) It is the responsibility of the employing agency to
initiate appropriate disciplinary or corrective action in
individual cases. However, corrective action may be ordered or
disciplinary action recommended by the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics under the procedures at part 2638 of this
chapter.

 (c) A violation of this part or of supplemental agency
regulations, as such, does not create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any person
against the United States, its agencies, its officers or
employees, or any other person. Thus, for example, an individual
who alleges that an employee has failed to adhere to laws and
regulations that provide equal opportunity regardless of race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap is
required to follow applicable statutory and regulatory
procedures, including those of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.

2635.107 Ethics advice.

 (a) As required by 2638.201 and 2638.202(b) of this
chapter, each agency has a designated agency ethics official who,
on the agency's behalf, is responsible for coordinating and
managing the agency's ethics program, as well as an alternate.
The designated agency ethics official has authority under
2638.204 of this chapter to delegate certain responsibilities,
including that of providing ethics counseling regarding the
application of this part, to one or more deputy ethics officials.

 (b) Employees who have questions about the application of
this part or any supplemental agency regulations to particular
situations should seek advice from an agency ethics official.
Disciplinary action for violating this part or any supplemental
agency regulations will not be taken against an employee who has
engaged in conduct in good faith reliance upon the advice of an
agency ethics official, provided that the employee, in seeking
such advice, has made full disclosure of all relevant
circumstances. Where the employee's conduct violates a criminal
statute, reliance on the advice of an agency ethics official
cannot ensure that the employee will not be prosecuted under that
statute. However, good faith reliance on the advice of an agency
ethics official is a factor that may be taken into account by the
Department of Justice in the selection of cases for prosecution.
Disclosures made by an employee to an agency ethics official are
not protected by an attorney-client privilege. An agency ethics
official is required by 28 U.S.C. 535 to report any information
he receives relating to a violation of the criminal code, title
18 of the United States Code.

Subpart B -- Gifts From Outside Sources

2635.201 Overview.

 This subpart contains standards that prohibit an employee
from soliciting or accepting any gift from a prohibited source or
given because of the employee's official position unless the item
is excluded from the definition of a gift or falls within one of
the exceptions set forth in this subpart.

2635.202 General standards.

 (a) General prohibitions. Except as provided in this
subpart, an employee shall not, directly or indirectly, solicit
or accept a gift:

 (1) From a prohibited source; or

 (2) Given because of the employee's official position.

 (b) Relationship to illegal gratuities statute. Unless
accepted in violation of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, a gift
accepted under the standards set forth in this subpart shall not
constitute an illegal gratuity otherwise prohibited by 18 U.S.C.
201(c)(1)(B).

 (c) Limitations on use of exceptions. Notwithstanding any
exception provided in this subpart, other than 2635.204(j), an
employee shall not:

 (1) Accept a gift in return for being influenced in the
performance of an official act;

 (2) Solicit or coerce the offering of a gift;

 (3) Accept gifts from the same or different sources on a
basis so frequent that a reasonable person would be led to
believe the employee is using his public office for private gain;

 Example 1: A purchasing agent for a Veterans
Administration hospital routinely deals with representatives of
pharmaceutical manufacturers who provide information about new
company products. Because of his crowded calendar, the purchasing
agent has offered to meet with manufacturer representatives
during his lunch hours Tuesdays through Thursdays and the
representatives routinely arrive at the employee's office
bringing a sandwich and a soft drink for the employee. Even
though the market value of each of the lunches is less than $6
and the aggregate value from any one manufacturer does not exceed
the $50 aggregate limitation in 2635.204(a) on de minimis gifts
of $20 or less, the practice of accepting even these modest gifts
on a recurring basis is improper.

 (4) Accept a gift in violation of any statute. Relevant
statutes applicable to all employees include:

 (i) 18 U.S.C. 201(b), which prohibits a public official
from seeking, accepting, or agreeing to receive or accept
anything of value in return for being influenced in the
performance of an official act or for being induced to take or
omit to take any action in violation of his official duty. As
used in 18 U.S.C. 201(b), the term ``public official'' is broadly
construed and includes regular and special Government employees
as well as all other Government officials;

 (ii) 18 U.S.C. 209, which prohibits an employee, other
than a special Government employee, from receiving any salary or
any contribution to or supplementation of salary from any source
other than the United States as compensation for services as a
Government employee. The statute contains several specific
exceptions to this general prohibition, including an exception
for contributions made from the treasury of a State, county, or
municipality; and

 (iii) 41 U.S.C. 423(b)(2), which prohibits a procurement
official from seeking, accepting, or agreeing to receive any
money, gratuity, or other thing of value from any officer,
employee, representative, agent, or consultant of a competing
contractor during the conduct of a Federal agency procurement.
Implementing regulations, including exceptions to the gift
prohibition, are contained in the Federal Acquisition Regulation,
48 CFR 3.104; or

 (5) Accept vendor promotional training contrary to
applicable regulations, policies or guidance relating to the
procurement of supplies and services for the Government, except
pursuant to 2635.204(l).

[57 FR 35041, Aug. 7, 1992; 57 FR 48557, Oct. 27, 1992]

2635.203 Definitions.

 For purposes of this subpart, the following definitions
shall apply:

 (a) Agency has the meaning set forth in 2635.102(a).
However, for purposes of this subpart, an executive department,
as defined in 5 U.S.C.  101, may, by supplemental agency
regulation, designate as a separate agency any component of that
department which the department determines exercises distinct and
separate functions.

 (b) Gift includes any gratuity, favor, discount,
entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item
having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of
training, transportation, local travel, lodgings and meals,
whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in
advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred. It
does not include:

 (1) Modest items of food and refreshments, such as soft
drinks, coffee and donuts, offered other than as part of a meal;

 (2) Greeting cards and items with little intrinsic value,
such as plaques, certificates, and trophies, which are intended
solely for presentation;

 (3) Loans from banks and other financial institutions on
terms generally available to the public;

 (4) Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates
and commercial discounts, available to the public or to a class
consisting of all Government employees or all uniformed military
personnel, whether or not restricted on the basis of geographic
considerations;

 (5) Rewards and prizes given to competitors in contests or
events, including random drawings, open to the public unless the
employee's entry into the contest or event is required as part of
his official duties;

 (6) Pension and other benefits resulting from continued
participation in an employee welfare and benefits plan maintained
by a former employer;

 (7) Anything which is paid for by the Government or
secured by the Government under Government contract;

 Note: Some airlines encourage those purchasing tickets to
join programs that award free flights and other benefits to
frequent fliers. Any such benefit earned on the basis of
Government-financed travel belongs to the agency rather than to
the employee and may be accepted only insofar as provided under
41 CFR 301 - 1.6(b).

 (8) Any gift accepted by the Government under specific
statutory authority, including:

 (i) Travel, subsistence, and related expenses accepted by
an agency under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 1353 in connection
with an employee's attendance at a meeting or similar function
relating to his official duties which takes place away from his
duty station. The agency's acceptance must be in accordance with
the implementing regulations at 41 CFR part 304 - 1; and

 (ii) Other gifts provided in-kind which have been
accepted by an agency under its agency gift acceptance statute;
or

 (9) Anything for which market value is paid by the
employee.

 (c) Market value means the retail cost the employee would
incur to purchase the gift. An employee who cannot ascertain the
market value of a gift may estimate its market value by reference
to the retail cost of similar items of like quality. The market
value of a gift of a ticket entitling the holder to food,
refreshments, entertainment, or any other benefit shall be the
face value of the ticket.

 Example 1: An employee who has been given an acrylic
paperweight embedded with the corporate logo of a prohibited
source may determine its market value based on her observation
that a comparable acrylic paperweight, not embedded with a logo,
generally sells for about $20.

 Example 2: A prohibited source has offered an employee a
ticket to a charitable event consisting of a cocktail reception
to be followed by an evening of chamber music. Even though the
food, refreshments, and entertainment provided at the event may
be worth only $20, the market value of the ticket is its $250
face value.

 (d) Prohibited source means any person who:

 (1) Is seeking official action by the employee's agency;

 (2) Does business or seeks to do business with the
employee's agency;

 (3) Conducts activities regulated by the employee's
agency;

 (4) Has interests that may be substantially affected by
performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties;
or

 (5) Is an organization a majority of whose members are
described in paragraphs (d) (1) through (4) of this section.

 (e) A gift is solicited or accepted because of the
employee's official position if it is from a person other than an
employee and would not have been solicited, offered, or given had
the employee not held his position as a Federal employee.

 Note: Gifts between employees are subject to the
limitations set forth in subpart C of this part.

 Example 1: Where free season tickets are offered by an
opera guild to all members of the Cabinet, the gift is offered
because of their official positions.

 (f) A gift which is solicited or accepted indirectly
includes a gift:

 (1) Given with the employee's knowledge and acquiescence
to his parent, sibling, spouse, child, or dependent relative
because of that person's relationship to the employee, or

 (2) Given to any other person, including any charitable
organization, on the basis of designation, recommendation, or
other specification by the employee, except as permitted for the
disposition of perishable items by 2635.205(a)(2) or for payments
made to charitable organizations in lieu of honoraria under
2636.204 of this chapter.

 Example 1: An employee who must decline a gift of a
personal computer pursuant to this subpart may not suggest that
the gift be given instead to one of five charitable organizations
whose names are provided by the employee.

 (g) Vendor promotional training means training provided by
any person for the purpose of promoting its products or services.
It does not include training provided under a Government contract
or by a contractor to facilitate use of products or services it
furnishes under a Government contract.

2635.204 Exceptions.

 The prohibitions set forth in 2635.202(a) do not apply to
a gift accepted under the circumstances described in paragraphs
(a) through (l) of this section and a gift accepted in accordance
with one of those paragraphs will not be deemed to violate the
principles set forth in 2635.101(b). Even though acceptance of a
gift may be permitted by one of the exceptions contained in
paragraphs (a) through (l) of this section, it is never
inappropriate and frequently prudent for an employee to decline a
gift offered by a prohibited source or because of his official
position.

 (a) Gifts of $20 or less. An employee may accept
unsolicited gifts having an aggregate market value of $20 or less
per occasion, provided that the aggregate market value of
individual gifts received from any one person under the authority
of this paragraph shall not exceed $50 in a calendar year. This
exception does not apply to gifts of cash or of investment
interests such as stock, bonds, or certificates of deposit. Where
the market value of a gift or the aggregate market value of gifts
offered on any single occasion exceeds $20, the employee may not
pay the excess value over $20 in order to accept that portion of
the gift or those gifts worth $20. Where the aggregate value of
tangible items offered on a single occasion exceeds $20, the
employee may decline any distinct and separate item in order to
accept those items aggregating $20 or less.

 Example 1: An employee of the Securities and Exchange
Commission and his spouse have been invited by a representative
of a regulated entity to a Broadway play, tickets to which have a
face value of $30 each. The aggregate market value of the gifts
offered on this single occasion is $60, $40 more than the $20
amount that may be accepted for a single event or presentation.
The employee may not accept the gift of the evening of
entertainment. He and his spouse may attend the play only if he
pays the full $60 value of the two tickets.

 Example 2: An employee of the Defense Mapping Agency has
been invited by an association of cartographers to speak about
his agency's role in the evolution of missile technology. At the
conclusion of his speech, the association presents the employee a
framed map with a market value of $18 and a book about the
history of cartography with a market value of $15. The employee
may accept the map or the book, but not both, since the aggregate
value of these two tangible items exceeds $20.

 Example 3: On four occasions during the calendar year, an
employee of the Defense Logistics Agency was given gifts worth
$10 each by four employees of a corporation that is a DLA
contractor. For purposes of applying the yearly $50 limitation on
gifts of $20 or less from any one person, the four gifts must be
aggregated because a person is defined at 2635.102(k) to mean not
only the corporate entity, but its officers and employees as
well.  However, for purposes of applying the $50 aggregate
limitation, the employee would not have to include the value of a
birthday present received from his cousin, who is employed by the
same corporation, if he can accept the birthday present under the
exception at 2635.204(b) for gifts based on a personal
relationship.

 Example 4: Under the authority of 31 U.S.C. 1353 for
agencies to accept payments from non-Federal sources in
connection with attendance at certain meetings or similar
functions, the Environmental Protection Agency has accepted an
association's gift of travel expenses and conference fees for an
employee of its Office of Radiation Programs to attend an
international conference on ``The Chernobyl Experience.'' While
at the conference, the employee may accept a gift of $20 or less
from the association or from another person attending the
conference even though it was not approved in advance by the EPA.
Although 31 U.S.C. 1353 is the only authority under which an
agency may accept gifts from certain non-Federal sources in
connection with its employees' attendance at such functions, a
gift of $20 or less accepted under 2635.204(a) is a gift to the
employee rather than to his employing agency.

 Example 5: A Navy contracting officer is participating in
a procurement for environmental cleanup services at a Navy
installation that has recently been closed. She is presently
involved in negotiations with three competing contractors, one of
whom has offered her a fancy ballpoint pen embossed with its
corporate logo. Even though the pen has a market value of $18 and
could be accepted under the $20 de minimis exception at
2635.204(a), the contracting officer cannot accept the competing
contractor's gift. Under the procurement integrity provisions at
41 U.S.C.  423, she is a ``procurement official'' for that
contract and, except as specifically permitted by the regulations
implementing that statute, she is prohibited prior to award from
accepting a gift from a competing contractor for that contract.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation at 48 CFR 3.104 contains an
exception for gifts with a market value of $10 or less.

 (b) Gifts based on a personal relationship. An employee
may accept a gift given under circumstances which make it clear
that the gift is motivated by a family relationship or personal
friendship rather than the position of the employee. Relevant
factors in making such a determination include the history of the
relationship and whether the family member or friend personally
pays for the gift.

 Example 1: An employee of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation has been dating a secretary employed by a member
bank. For Secretary's Week, the bank has given each secretary 2
tickets to an off-Broadway musical review and has urged each to
invite a family member or friend to share the evening of
entertainment. Under the circumstances, the FDIC employee may
accept his girlfriend's invitation to the theater. Even though
the tickets were initially purchased by the member bank, they
were given without reservation to the secretary to use as she
wished, and her invitation to the employee was motivated by their
personal friendship.

 Example 2: Three partners in a law firm that handles
corporate mergers have invited an employee of the Federal Trade
Commission to join them in a golf tournament at a private club at
the firm's expense. The entry fee is $500 per foursome. The
employee cannot accept the gift of one-quarter of the entry fee
even though he and the three partners have developed an amicable
relationship as a result of the firm's dealings with the FTC. As
evidenced in part by the fact that the fees are to be paid by the
firm, it is not a personal friendship but a business relationship
that is the motivation behind the partners' gift.

 (c) Discounts and similar benefits. In addition to those
opportunities and benefits excluded from the definition of a gift
by 2635.203(b)(4), an employee may accept:

 (1) Reduced membership or other fees for participation in
organization activities offered to all Government employees or
all uniformed military personnel by professional organizations if
the only restrictions on membership relate to professional
qualifications; and

 (2) Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates
and commercial discounts not precluded by paragraph (c)(3) of
this section:

 (i) Offered to members of a group or class in which
membership is unrelated to Government employment;

 (ii) Offered to members of an organization, such as an
employees' association or agency credit union, in which
membership is related to Government employment if the same offer
is broadly available to large segments of the public through
organizations of similar size; or

 (iii) Offered by a person who is not a prohibited source
to any group or class that is not defined in a manner that
specifically discriminates among Government employees on the
basis of type of official responsibility or on a basis that
favors those of higher rank or rate of pay; provided, however,
that

 (3) An employee may not accept for personal use any
benefit to which the Government is entitled as the result of an
expenditure of Government funds.

 Example 1: An employee of the Consumer Product Safety
Commission may accept a discount of $50 on a microwave oven
offered by the manufacturer to all members of the CPSC employees'
association. Even though the CPSC is currently conducting studies
on the safety of microwave ovens, the $50 discount is a standard
offer that the manufacturer has made broadly available through a
number of similar organizations to large segments of the public.

 Example 2: An Assistant Secretary may not accept a local
country club's offer of membership to all members of Department
Secretariats which includes a waiver of its $5,000 membership
initiation fee. Even though the country club is not a prohibited
source, the offer discriminates in favor of higher ranking
officials.

 Example 3: The administrative officer for a district
office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service has signed
an INS order to purchase 50 boxes of photocopy paper from a
supplier whose literature advertises that it will give a free
briefcase to anyone who purchases 50 or more boxes. Because the
paper was purchased with INS funds, the administrative officer
cannot keep the briefcase which, if claimed and received, is
Government property.

 (d) Awards and honorary degrees. (1) An employee may
accept gifts, other than cash or an investment interest, with an
aggregate market value of $200 or less if such gifts are a bona
fide award or incident to a bona fide award that is given for
meritorious public service or achievement by a person who does
not have interests that may be substantially affected by the
performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties
or by an association or other organization the majority of whose
members do not have such interests. Gifts with an aggregate
market value in excess of $200 and awards of cash or investment
interests offered by such persons as awards or incidents of
awards that are given for these purposes may be accepted upon a
written determination by an agency ethics official that the award
is made as part of an established program of recognition:

 (i) Under which awards have been made on a regular basis
or which is funded, wholly or in part, to ensure its continuation
on a regular basis; and

 (ii) Under which selection of award recipients is made
pursuant to written standards.

 (2) An employee may accept an honorary degree from an
institution of higher education as defined at 20 U.S.C. 1141(a)
based on a written determination by an agency ethics official
that the timing of the award of the degree would not cause a
reasonable person to question the employee's impartiality in a
matter affecting the institution.

 (3) An employee who may accept an award or honorary degree
pursuant to paragraph (d)(1) or (2) of this section may also
accept meals and entertainment given to him and to members of his
family at the event at which the presentation takes place.

 Example 1: Based on a determination by an agency ethics
official that the prize meets the criteria set forth in
2635.204(d)(1), an employee of the National Institutes of Health
may accept the Nobel Prize for Medicine, including the cash award
which accompanies the prize, even though the prize was conferred
on the basis of laboratory work performed at NIH.

 Example 2: Prestigious University wishes to give an
honorary degree to the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary may
accept the honorary degree only if an agency ethics official
determines in writing that the timing of the award of the degree
would not cause a reasonable person to question the Secretary's
impartiality in a matter affecting the university.

 Example 3: An ambassador selected by a nonprofit
organization as recipient of its annual award for distinguished
service in the interest of world peace may, together with his
wife, and children, attend the awards ceremony dinner and accept
a crystal bowl worth $200 presented during the ceremony. However,
where the organization has also offered airline tickets for the
ambassador and his family to travel to the city where the awards
ceremony is to be held, the aggregate value of the tickets and
the crystal bowl exceeds $200 and he may accept only upon a
written determination by the agency ethics official that the
award is made as part of an established program of recognition.

 (e) Gifts based on outside business or employment
relationships. An employee may accept meals, lodgings,
transportation and other benefits:

 (1) Resulting from the business or employment activities
of an employee's spouse when it is clear that such benefits have
not been offered or enhanced because of the employee's official
position;

 Example 1: A Department of Agriculture employee whose
husband is a computer programmer employed by an Agriculture
Department contractor may attend the company's annual retreat for
all of its employees and their families held at a resort
facility. However, under 2635.502, the employee may be
disqualified from performing official duties affecting her
husband's employer.

 Example 2: Where the spouses of other clerical personnel
have not been invited, an employee of the Defense Contract Audit
Agency whose wife is a clerical worker at a defense contractor
may not attend the contractor's annual retreat in Hawaii for
corporate officers and members of the board of directors, even
though his wife received a special invitation for herself and her
spouse.

 (2) Resulting from his outside business or employment
activities when it is clear that such benefits have not been
offered or enhanced because of his official status; or

 Example 1: The members of an Army Corps of Engineers
environmental advisory committee that meets 6 times per year are
special Government employees. A member who has a consulting
business may accept an invitation to a $50 dinner from her
corporate client, an Army construction contractor, unless, for
example, the invitation was extended in order to discuss the
activities of the committee.

 (3) Customarily provided by a prospective employer in
connection with bona fide employment discussions. If the
prospective employer has interests that could be affected by
performance or nonperformance of the employee's duties,
acceptance is permitted only if the employee first has complied
with the disqualification requirements of subpart F of this part
applicable when seeking employment.

 Example 1: An employee of the Federal Communications
Commission with responsibility for drafting regulations affecting
all cable television companies wishes to apply for a job opening
with a cable television holding company. Once she has properly
disqualified herself from further work on the regulations as
required by subpart F of this part, she may enter into employment
discussions with the company and may accept the company's offer
to pay for her airfare, hotel and meals in connection with an
interview trip.

 (4) For purposes of paragraphs (e)(1) through (3) of this
section, employment shall have the meaning set forth in
2635.603(a).

 (f) Gifts from a political organization. An employee who
is exempt under 5 U.S.C. 7324(d) from the Hatch Act prohibitions
against active participation in political management or political
campaigns may accept meals, lodgings, transportation and other
benefits, including free attendance at events, when provided, in
connection with such active participation, by a political
organization described in 26 U.S.C. 527(e). Any other employee,
such as a security officer, whose official duties require him to
accompany an exempt employee to a political event may accept
meals, free attendance and entertainment provided at the event by
such a political organization.

 Example 1: The Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services is exempt from the noted Hatch Act restrictions.
He may accept an airline ticket and hotel accommodations
furnished by the campaign committee of a candidate for the United
States Senate in order to give a speech in support of the
candidate.

 (g) Widely attended gatherings and other events -- (1)
Speaking and similar engagements. When an employee is assigned to
participate as a speaker or panel participant or otherwise to
present information on behalf of the agency at a conference or
other event, his acceptance of an offer of free attendance at the
event on the day of his presentation is permissible when provided
by the sponsor of the event. The employee's participation in the
event on that day is viewed as a customary and necessary part of
his performance of the assignment and does not involve a gift to
him or to the agency.

 (2) Widely attended gatherings. When there has been a
determination that his attendance is in the interest of the
agency because it will further agency programs or operations, an
employee may accept a sponsor's unsolicited gift of free
attendance at all or appropriate parts of a widely attended
gathering of mutual interest to a number of parties. A gathering
is widely attended if, for example, it is open to members from
throughout a given industry or profession or if those in
attendance represent a range of persons interested in a given
matter. For employees subject to a leave system, attendance at
the event shall be on the employee's own time or, if authorized
by the employee's agency, on excused absence pursuant to
applicable guidelines for granting such absence, or otherwise
without charge to the employee's leave account.

 (3) Determination of agency interest. The determination of
agency interest required by paragraph (g)(2) of this section
shall be made orally or in writing by the agency designee.

 (i) If the sponsor is a person who has interests that may
be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of
an employee's official duties or an association or organization
the majority of whose members have such interests, the employee's
participation may be determined to be in the interest of the
agency only where there is a written finding by the agency
designee that the agency's interest in the employee's
participation in the event outweighs concern that acceptance of
the gift of free attendance may or may appear to improperly
influence the employee in the performance of his official duties.
Relevant factors that should be considered by the agency designee
include the importance of the event to the agency, the nature and
sensitivity of any pending matter affecting the interests of the
sponsor of the event, the significance of the employee's role in
any such matter, the purpose of the event, the identity of other
expected participants and the monetary value of the gift of free
attendance.

 (ii) A blanket determination of agency interest may be
issued to cover all or any category of invitees other than those
as to whom a finding is required by paragraph (g)(3)(i) of this
section. Where a finding under paragraph (g)(3)(i) of this
section is required, a written determination of agency interest,
including the necessary finding, may be issued to cover two or
more employees whose duties similarly affect the interests of the
sponsor or its members.

 (4) Free attendance. For purposes of paragraphs (g) (1)
and (2) of this section, free attendance may include waiver of
all or part of a conference or other fee or the provision of
food, refreshments, entertainment, instruction and materials
furnished to all attendees as an integral part of the event. It
does not include travel expenses, lodgings, entertainment
collateral to the event, or meals taken other than in a group
setting with all other attendees.

 Note: There are statutory authorities implemented other
than by part 2635 under which an agency or an employee may be
able to accept free attendance or other items not included in the
definition of free attendance, such as travel expenses.