If you've left your postal carrier Christmas gift, you better make sure it's a gift you CAN give your postal carrier.

I had no idea that postal carriers weren't allowed to accept certain types of gifts or tips for their service.

There's nothing illegal about giving them something you're not allowed to give them; they'll just tell you they can't accept it and why. According to the United States Postal Service, carriers cannot accept gifts that are monetary or the equivalent of cash.

In fact, here's what it says verbatim:

"All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Exec­utive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period."

So, yeah, you can still give your postal carrier something. It just can't be worth more than $20.

And that's good. Don't want to leave them out completely.

 

 

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