December 22, 2016
On December 21, 2016, OGE issued a Legal Advisory discussing the recent amendments to the provisions of the Standards of Ethical Conduct that govern gifts from outside sources, found at 5 C.F.R. 2635, Subpart B. Subpart B prohibits executive branch employees from soliciting or accepting gifts from persons who are regulated by the employee’s agency or gifts that are given because of the employee’s government position. This Legal Advisory highlights major substantive changes made in the final rule, available here https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-11-18/pdf/2016-27036.pdf, which OGE published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2016.
The Legal Advisory discusses, among other revisions, the considerations for declining otherwise permissible gifts found at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.201(b), and the Widely Attended Gatherings (WAG) exception, found at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.204(g).
The Legal Advisory can be found here.