18 USC 209 generally prohibits covered federal executive-branch employees from receiving outside salary supplementation as compensation for government services. It also reaches a payer who makes a prohibited contribution. The key issue is the relationship between the economic benefit and the employee’s official service, not simply whether money changed hands. [1]
What makes a payment problematic?
OGE’s guidance identifies receipt of salary or supplementation, compensation, services as a government employee, and a nongovernment source as central elements. The prohibition does not require the payer to have business before the employee’s agency or a specific bargain to influence an official act. [2]
For example, a former employer’s offer to “make up the difference” between private-sector earnings and federal salary can raise a different issue from payment for genuinely separate outside work. The purpose, terms, timing, and surrounding communications require review.
Not every outside receipt is salary supplementation
The statute contains exceptions and exclusions. It expressly permits continued participation in specified bona fide former-employer benefit plans. It also addresses special government employees and people serving without compensation. Those provisions have precise scope and should not be generalized into permission for every severance, bonus, award, or benefit. [1]
A payment that falls outside Section 209 may still raise gift, conflict-of-interest, outside-employment, or other ethics restrictions. Passing one statutory test is not approval of the entire arrangement.
Both sides should obtain advice
The payer provision can apply to individuals and organizations. A company should not assume that an employee’s willingness to accept a payment establishes its legality. Likewise, routing a payment through another person or describing it as a “thank-you” does not necessarily change its compensatory purpose. [1][2]
Information for an ethics review
- The employee’s appointment and compensation status.
- The payer’s identity and relationship to the employee.
- The payment amount, form, timing, and conditions.
- Written descriptions of the payment’s purpose.
- Any continuing services or benefit-plan terms.
Obtain advice from the appropriate ethics official before accepting or making a questionable payment. The statute incorporates penalties through Section 216, and the applicable mental-state and enforcement provisions require separate analysis. [1]
Related rules include post-employment restrictions under Section 207 and federal employees' right to petition Congress. Ethics restrictions and protected communications concern different conduct and should not be conflated.
Primary sources
- 18 U.S. Code 209 – Salary of Government Officials and Employees Payable Only by United States
- 18 U.S.C. 209 Guidance Memorandum
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.