What Are Minnesota’s Rules For Giving Postal Workers Gifts?

Postal workers are some of the hardest workers in the entire country, ESPECIALLY around Christmastime. Just last week we posted a look behind-the-scenes of the Bemidji Post Office, which looked like it would be very difficult to keep up with!

Photos from inside Bemidji’s post office
byu/JambeLives inminnesota

While we may want to show our local postal worker some extra gratitude this season, the United States Postal Service does have some rules when it comes to what is allowable to give to your carrier.

As it turns out, you may want to keep the gift to your carrier very small, as the USPS policy states gifts must be worth $20 or less. Further, cash and gift cards that could potentially be exchanged for cash CANNOT be given at any time.

Here is the official policy, per the USPS website:

 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, be careful how you show your appreciation for our hard working postal workers this holiday season!

Examples of 'acceptable' gifts include:

• A greeting card
• A retail gift card valued at $20.00 or less
• Modest food items, such as a cup of coffee, donut, or an appetizer not offered as a part of a meal
• Any other non-cash item valued at $20 or less

Unacceptable gifts include: 

• Cash or cash equivalents (money order, check, Visa or American Express gift card, etc.)
• A retail gift card with a value over $20.00
• Tickets to sporting events with a value over $20.00
• Any other item worth more than $20.00