Coffee is in; cash is not

Isn't it wonderful what postal customers do for you? There's the elderly lady at the start of your route who bakes bran muffins that you dutifully accept even though they're as heavy as bricks. Then there's the office secretary who brings you a double decaf latte whenever he brings in the postage meter. A nice touch on a chilly day. And how about those fine, upstanding citizens who in an innocent gesture of appreciation for a job well done slip a 10- or 20-dollar bill in Hallmark-inspired "For My Letter Carrier" holiday cards?

Give it back. Not the baked goods or the coffee, but the money. Accepting a cash gift from a customer is a violation of ethics rules for federal employees, and that includes you. Everybody. All 800,000 or so postal employees. From the bottom to the top and vice versa. Yes, you.

Anyway, who's to say it's an "innocent" gesture? And besides, you're just doing your job and already getting paid for it, right?

"Public service is a public trust," says Wendy Hocking, an entirely pleasant attorney whose job is to deal with ethics issues for the Postal Service. "We care about how the public perceives us."

Everyone who works for the Postal Service has had some ethics training. Remember your orientation? Think of this as a refresher course.

"Employees may not accept gifts from outside sources or within the Postal Service," says Mary Elcano, senior vice president, general counsel, top ethics official and Hocking's boss. "Never cash. No government employees can accept cash from outside sources."

There are exceptions for gifts valued at $20 or less. But even within this limit, if acceptance of the gift would lead people to believe the employee is abusing his or her position or the gift giver is trying to gain influence, then don't do it.

Cash doesn't apply only to the stuff that folds or jingles in your pocket. It includes gift certificates and checks. It's okay to accept a cup of coffee, a donut or a soda. Pens are acceptable, too (no Mont Blancs, please); cars are not. There's a $50-per-year limit on gifts from any one source.

As for gifts between employees, the general rule is that you can't give a gift to your official superior unless it's a "special life event," like a wedding or retirement. Also, an employee cannot accept a gift from another employee who earns less pay, unless the person giving the gift is not a subordinate and the gift is based strictly on a personal relationship.

There also are rules dealing with conflicting financial interests, impartiality in performing official duties, seeking other employment, misuse of position and outside activities. If a process server wants you to serve court papers while you deliver the mail, you can't. You can't work for both the Postal Service and Federal Express at the same time. You can't coach your brother on how to win a postal contract before it's even announced.

These rules have been in effect for years, but even so, "There is widespread misinformation," says Hocking. "Sometimes it's because people don't really want to know. We're making more of an effort to put the word out."

Employees with questions can contact a managing or ethics counsel at headquarters or in the field.

"We're all paid to do our jobs. We're supposed to give good service," Hocking says. "We're federal employees. These are the rules. We really do care about the way the public perceives us as postal workers. We're in public service and people already are paying for our services by being ratepayers."