5 USC § 7351 - Gifts to superiors

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t5/s7351"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "5 USC § 7351 - Gifts to superiors"
title_number: 5
title_name: "GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES"
section_number: "7351"
section_name: "Gifts to superiors"
chapter_number: 73
chapter_name: "SUITABILITY, SECURITY, AND CONDUCT"
subchapter_number: "V"
subchapter_name: "MISCONDUCT"
part_number: "III"
part_name: "EMPLOYEES"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 101–194, title III, § 301, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1745; Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(a), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 157.)"
---


# § 7351. Gifts to superiors

**(a)** An employee may not—

**(1)** solicit a contribution from another employee for a gift to an official superior;

**(2)** make a donation as a gift or give a gift to an official superior; or

**(3)** accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay than himself.

**(b)** An employee who violates this section shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action by the employing agency or entity.

**(c)** Each supervising ethics office (as defined in section 7353(d)(1)) is authorized to issue regulations implementing this section, including regulations exempting voluntary gifts or contributions that are given or received for special occasions such as marriage or retirement or under other circumstances in which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 527; Pub. L. 101–194, title III, § 301, Nov. 30, 1989, 103 Stat. 1745; Pub. L. 101–280, § 4(a), May 4, 1990, 104 Stat. 157.)

| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes andStatutes at Large |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  | 5 U.S.C. 113. | R.S. § 1784. |

The application of the section is confined to employees, since the President and Members of Congress, though officers, could not have been intended to be “summarily discharged”, and members of uniformed services are not covered by this statute. In the last sentence, the word “removed” is substituted for “summarily discharged” because of the provisions of the Lloyd-LaFollette Act, , as amended, and the Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944, , as amended, which are carried into this title.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

1990—Subsec. (a)(2). , inserted “or give a gift” after “donation as a gift”.

Subsec. (c). , substituted “Each supervising ethics office (as defined in section 7353(d)(1))” for “The Office of Government Ethics” and “circumstances in which gifts are traditionally given or exchanged” for “similar circumstances”.

1989— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out “An employee who violates this section shall be removed from the service.” at end, and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Inapplicability to Transfers of Unused Accrued Annual Leave by Federal Employees; Exception

, , , provided that  would not apply to leave transfers under certain programs covering Federal employees during fiscal year ending on , except as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe.