Image-Let's Do Lunch

 

All of the contract bids are in. One of the bidders would like to take you out to lunch. Ask yourself: 1) Is this a gift I can accept? 2) How would this look to an outsider? As a Federal Government employee, you have been placed in a position of trust and are held to a high standard of ethical conduct. For more information on the ethics laws regarding working with contractors, please contact your agency's ethics office. READ BELOW...

 

WERE YOU REALLY THINKING AT ALL?

Lunch with a Contractor - Just prior to a major contract award, a Bureau Director went out to lunch with one of the potential competitors at a swanky Washington restaurant. The wine alone cost over $100 per bottle. Too bad the Director didn't realize that a Washington Post reporter was at the next table. The story received front-page coverage in the next day's Post. By that afternoon, the Director announced that he had accepted a job in private industry -- a job he couldn't refuse (with his father-in-law).

The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 C.F.R. § 2635) generally prohibit Federal personnel from accepting gifts (including meals) from persons who do business or seek to do business with the employee's agency unless the gift falls under an exception.

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