COMCOR 19A.16.01 Gift Acceptance by Montgomery County Employees

This Regulation applies to all public employees except as otherwise specified by law.

2.0 Montgomery County Public Ethics Law 19A-16(c) prohibits a public employee from accepting a direct or indirect gift from a restricted donor. A gift given to an employee because of the employee’s official position also may not be accepted as to do so would be a misuse of the prestige of office. There are several exceptions to these prohibitions, and the Ethics Commission, pursuant to 19A-16(d)(9), may exempt from the prohibition a specific gift or class of gifts where accepting the gift or class of gifts is not detrimental to the impartial conduct of the business of a County agency. Pursuant to this regulation, the Commission exempts the acceptance of the gifts identified in 2.2-2.5 on the basis that acceptance is not detrimental to the impartial conduct of the business of a County agency subject to the limitation that notwithstanding any exemption, an employee must not:

a. Accept a gift in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act;

b. 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.

2.1 Gift Reporting in Financial Disclosure – The existence and availability of an exemption does not negate any obligations to report gifts under financial disclosure or lobbying reporting requirements of County law.

2.2 Gifts Based on Outside Business and Employment Relationships – An employee may accept a gift of meals, lodgings, transportation and other benefits based on outside business or employment relationship:

a. 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; or

b. 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 is disqualified from any matters that could affect the potential employer.

2.3 Gifts Based on Personal Relationships – An employee may accept an otherwise prohibited gift based on personal relationship where:

a. The history of the relationship demonstrates that the relationship is unrelated to the employee’s work as a Government employee and is not based on the employee’s official position or performance of official duties;

b. The person giving the gift personally pays for the gift;

c. The value of the gift is appropriate to the circumstances of the gift; and

d. Gifts received from a single source pursuant to this exemption are not excessive in number or value; and, further,

e. Where a gift is given in connection with a special event, such as a wedding, baby shower, or retirement party, the giver of the gift is an invitee to the event.

2.4 Acceptance of Certain Opportunities and Benefits – A public employee may accept:

a. Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates and commercial discounts, available to the public or to a class consisting of all public employees;

b. Reduced membership or other fees for participation in organization activities offered to all public employees by professional organizations if the only restrictions on membership relate to professional qualifications; and

c. Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates and commercial discounts:

i. Offered to members of a group or class in which membership is unrelated to County employment; or

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

2.5 Gifts Between Public Employees – Under certain circumstances, one employee can be a “restricted donor” as to another employee, as, for example, employees may be when they are in a superior-subordinate relationship. Additionally, gifts between employees, depending on the circumstances, can raise concerns regarding the misuse of the prestige of office. Notwithstanding these restrictions, a gift may be given and received between employees on an occasional basis, including:

a. Any occasion on which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged, where the gift is an item, other than cash, with an aggregate market value of $20 or less per occasion;

b. Items such as food and refreshments to be shared in the office among several employees;

c. Personal hospitality provided at a residence which is of a type and value customarily provided by the employee to personal friends;

d. Items given in connection with the receipt of personal hospitality if of a type and value customarily given on such occasions;

e. Leave solicited for and donated under personnel policies of the County, as long as the recipient or person soliciting donated leave is shielded from the identity of any person who is donating leave.

f. A gift appropriate to the occasion may be given and received from another employee or group of employees and an employee may request voluntary contributions of nominal amounts from fellow employees for appropriate gifts:

i. In recognition of infrequently occurring occasions of personal significance such as marriage, illness, death in the family, or the birth or adoption of a child; or

ii. Upon occasions that terminate a subordinate-official superior relationship, such as retirement, resignation, or transfer; and

g. An employee may request voluntary contributions of nominal amounts from fellow employees on an occasional basis, for items such as food and refreshments to be shared in the office among several employees, or for an agency-wide fund for gifts to be given under paragraph f. Coercion in collection of voluntary contributions is prohibited. A process allowing for anonymous contributions to such a fund is recommended to help avoid any suggestion of coercion in the collection or favoritism in the disposition of funds.