- Joined
- Mar 13, 2017
- Messages
- 26,525
- Reaction score
- 5,764
Seems like the shutdown these government employees are getting donations from go fund me and apparently its against the law
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/shutdown-employees-catch-22-trnd/index.html
They could go to jail
The federal law the government employees might be running afoul of is part of the United States Code that deals with the salaries paid to government officials and employees, under a section called "Bribery, Graft and Conflicts of Interest." In a nutshell, it says federal employees aren't supposed to supplement their salaries with outside income.
If they do, the penalties could be steep.
Punishment could be up to five years in prison, the law states. Employees also could be fined up to $50,000 for each violation or the amount of the compensation they received, which ever amount is greater.
"The primary law in question is a criminal law that prohibits payments in exchange for an employee's federal service," Walter Shaub, the former director of the US Office of Government Ethics, told CNN.
The reasoning behind the law: A federal employee who accepts outside payments could be susceptible to improper influence that impacts how he or she does their job.
But it's murky. If people are sending these employees money online primarily out of sympathy, that might be OK, Shaub said. But if people are sending money to them primarily because they're federal workers, that could be a problem legally.
"It is entirely possible that the government would decide this conduct violates that law, so I personally would never have done something like this while I was in government," said Shaub. "The potential penalties are quite severe."
Many of the GoFundMe campaigns started popping up in early January, after it became clear that federal workers affected by the shutdown might start missing paychecks. People are asking for help to pay their rent or mortgage, to buy food or even purchase diapers for their infant children. If they have questions about the legality of the funds they receive this way, there's no way to get an answer from the government right now.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/shutdown-employees-catch-22-trnd/index.html
They could go to jail
The federal law the government employees might be running afoul of is part of the United States Code that deals with the salaries paid to government officials and employees, under a section called "Bribery, Graft and Conflicts of Interest." In a nutshell, it says federal employees aren't supposed to supplement their salaries with outside income.
If they do, the penalties could be steep.
Punishment could be up to five years in prison, the law states. Employees also could be fined up to $50,000 for each violation or the amount of the compensation they received, which ever amount is greater.
"The primary law in question is a criminal law that prohibits payments in exchange for an employee's federal service," Walter Shaub, the former director of the US Office of Government Ethics, told CNN.
The reasoning behind the law: A federal employee who accepts outside payments could be susceptible to improper influence that impacts how he or she does their job.
But it's murky. If people are sending these employees money online primarily out of sympathy, that might be OK, Shaub said. But if people are sending money to them primarily because they're federal workers, that could be a problem legally.
"It is entirely possible that the government would decide this conduct violates that law, so I personally would never have done something like this while I was in government," said Shaub. "The potential penalties are quite severe."
Many of the GoFundMe campaigns started popping up in early January, after it became clear that federal workers affected by the shutdown might start missing paychecks. People are asking for help to pay their rent or mortgage, to buy food or even purchase diapers for their infant children. If they have questions about the legality of the funds they receive this way, there's no way to get an answer from the government right now.
