'Tis once again the season to be jolly, but wise.

• Author: Reeder, Joe
• Position: ETHICS CORNER

It is that time of year again when experts and pundits issue their annual holiday advice on assorted topics from toy purchases, to stress management tips, how to deal with visiting family and see those New Year's resolutions through.

It also a time when the Defense Department's Standards of Conduct Office, agency ethics officials and corporate ethics officers issue guidance and emphasize the rules governing partying and gift giving between contractors and their government customers. This guidance, as well as individual company ethics policies and programs, should be considered by government and contractor employees alike before celebrating the holiday season.

As invitations to receptions, office parties and holiday events begin to arrive, consider that the federal gift rule--the $20/$50 rule, the de minimis value exception, the bona fide personal relationship exception and the widely-attended gathering exception--should cover most circumstances.

All contractor and federal employees should receive training on the gift rule, which bars gifts to government employees from outside sources, particularly from sources doing business with an agency or gifts given because of an individual's position. The de minimis value exception to the gift rule allows the giving and receipt of items of little or no intrinsic value. In addition, the rule permits acceptance of gifts worth $20 or less, so long as the government employee has not accepted gifts from the contractor that exceed $50 in value for the year.

The bona fide personal relationship exception allows gifts from an otherwise prohibited source if a true personal/familial relationship exists, as long as the individual giver on whom the relationship is based (and not his/her company) pays for the gift. Typically, this exception only applies to long-standing, pre-existing personal friendships or family relationships.

The widely attended gathering exception requires approval by a government employee's supervisor and typically a determination by an appropriate ethics official that attendance is in the agency's interest. The gathering must involve a large number of persons (the benchmark is 100) representing a diversity of views. Government employees may attend a contractor's holiday party, open house, or reception as long as the widely attended gathering rule in particular applies. As usual, advance supervisor and a written agency "best interests" determination are best practices that should be followed...