§ Ethics Rule 4.17Gifts to Superiors by State Officers or Employees

A state officer or employee may not directly or indirectly give a
gift or make a donation toward a gift for an official superior in an
agency’s chain of command or solicit a contribution from another
employee for a gift to either his or her own or the other employee’s
official superior, nor may any state officer or employee receive
directly or indirectly a gift from an employee receiving less
compensation from the state than himself or herself, subject to the
following exceptions:
1. A state officer or employee may make or receive such a gift
if there exists a personal relationship between the two that would
justify the gift.
2. A state officer or employee may make or receive such a gift
on an occasional basis, including an occasion on which gifts are
traditionally given or exchanged, provided the gift, which may not be
in cash, has an aggregate market value of Twenty Dollars ($20.00) or
less per occasion.
3. A state officer or employee may make or receive such a gift
when items such as food or refreshments are to be shared in the
agency among several employees.
4. A state officer or employee may make or receive such a gift
involving personal hospitality provided at a residence which is of a
type and value customarily provided by the state officer or employee
to personal friends, or when the gifts consist of items given in
connection with the receipt of personal hospitality of a type and
value customarily given on such occasions.
5. A state officer or employee may make or receive such a gift
appropriate to the occasion in recognition of infrequently occurring
occasions of personal significance such as marriage, illness, birth
or adoption of a child, retirement, resignation or transfer.