New Year New Gift Rules for the Federal Executive Branch

New Year New Gift Rules for the Federal Executive Branch

November 23, 2016, Covington Alert

Corporations, trade associations, and others who interact with federal executive branch employees should be aware of the Office of Government Ethics’ (OGE) recent amendments to the executive branch gift rules, which go into effect on January 1, 2017. Seeking to encourage transparency and advance public confidence in the integrity of federal officials, OGE redefined some of the gifts executive branch employees can receive from outside sources and suggested when permissible gifts should be declined because they may create an appearance of impropriety. The new amendments include some of the most detailed changes to the executive branch gift rules in many years. This alert outlines the most significant changes.