TSA at New York LaGuardia had a tip box out, soliciting passengers. This was mid-week, as the government shutdown was about to end. TSA screeners have been working with deferred pay during the shutdown so many have been stretched. That’s about to change as some who worked during the shutdown are set to receive $10,000 bonuses.
While the practice of tipping service workers is controversial, as the practice has exploded (tiplation) since the pandemic, I think that if you get a particularly good pat down you should acknowledge it in a meaningful way?
[OC] TSA now accepting tips. LaGuardia today
byu/jimcol inpics
Let’s be clear: TSA screeners (and any federal employees on duty) cannot solicit or accept tips from passengers. A tip box at a checkpoint violates federal ethics rules and the TSA’s code of conduct.
- Executive branch rules bar employees from directly or indirectly soliciting or accepting gifts from “prohibited sources” or gifts given because of official position. Travelers are prohibited sources because they are there for an official action (screening) from TSA.
- Cash is categorically barred even under the de minimis exception allowing gifts up to $20). Cash or cash‑equivalent tips (liek gift cards) are never permitted.
- Using a public position to induce others to provide a benefit (like a tip) is prohibited. A tip box at a federal checkpoint while in uniform squarely falls under this rule.
- Placing a tip box on a government cart or table and handling tips on duty also violates rules on using government property and official time only for authorized purposes.
- The TSA Employee Responsibilities and Code of Conduct handbook is clear that “Employees may not solicit gifts under any circumstances,” and may not accept gifts from prohibited sources or because of official position.
- Accepting money linked to official duties can also implicate 18 U.S.C. § 209 (salary supplementation) and, if tied to an “official act,” 18 U.S.C. § 201 (illegal gratuity). These are criminal statutes, separate from administrative discipline a tip box can trigger.
Soliciting tips “under color of authority” is inappropriate and impermissible. It leverages the coercive setting of a federal checkpoint — where travelers must comply — to ask for money. Ethically, that’s using official authority to induce a benefit. Legally, it conflicts with 5 C.F.R. §§ 2635.202 (no solicitation) and 2635.702(a) (no inducement of benefits). It also risks public confusion about whether payment changes screening outcomes, undermining confidence in security.
Even leaving the law aside, it’s bad policy:
- Perverse incentives: Officers could be rewarded (consciously or not) for spending more time with passengers perceived as likely tippers, or for subtly signaling that tips speed things up.
- Impartiality and equity: Creates a “pay‑to‑play” perception that wealthier or frequent travelers can buy softer screening, eroding trust and the appearance of equal treatment. (Expedited airport VIP services do this to some degree, but the screenings are the same. Tipping could change this.)
- Security risk: Any incentive to waive secondary or rush an inspection for a tip works against the point of having a security checkpoint.
A box like this at a TSA checkpoint was an impermissible violation of TSA policy, federal ethics rules, and good sense. Something like this should be flagged for a supervisor and reported. Take photos! Personally, I’d flag it for the DHS Office of Inspector General hotline (for potential misconduct).
Now, there have been a lot of efforts to help out the people you come into contact with, who were working during the shutdown. Cash tips are out, 100%. Modest snacks are generally OK. Free meals are only sometimes OK. And airport‑run “pantries” should have been structured carefully.
Modest items of food and non‑alcoholic refreshments” (coffee, donuts, snacks) not part of a meal are not considered gifts at all. Repeated acceptance of freebies can still be improper even if each item is under $20. The TSA’s handbook adds, “do not solicit; generally may not accept cash; and a prohibited source “includes the traveling public.”
During a government shutdown, employees can accept:
- modest refreshments
- $20 non‑cash items with $50/year cap
- benefits offered to all federal employees as long as the donor is not a prohibited source
So TGI Friday’s was offering free food to TSA and air traffic controllers. Since that wasn’t available to all government employees it would have been subject to the $20 cap per meal and $50 per year.
And passengers offering granola bars and Rice Krispie treats is allowable, “modest refreshments.”
Airports offering pantry items to TSA agents is only allowable up to $20. An airport authority or airport concessionaire is a prohibited source for TSA employees since airport operations are regulated and substantially affected by TSA.
It’s likely there was a lot of looking the other way over the past few weeks. But tip boxes? Absolutely crosses the line.
But but….elizabeth pocahontas and pro prostitution waitress aoc are in favor of it, and so is the new terrorist mayor and our own 1990 so it must stay there!!!
Power to the disadvantaged!!!!
It is called a bribe. Let me tip you $10 and Let my friend on with a hand gun or a brick.
Postal employees can not accept cash gifts or gift cards either.
Given the strict protocols the TSA is required to follow, I am actually shocked that someone put a tip box outside a screening area. The supervisory personnel on duty at the time should be disciplined.
Too bad no one told Trump or his various appointees that accepting tips are illegal. Perhaps Secretary Holman should return that $50k payment he received in return for a government contract? Perhaps the Qatari jet should be understood as a gift to the USA (even though retrofitting it will probably cost nearly as much as a new AF1 from Boeing) & cannot be given to Trump’s presidential library after he leaves office? Does investing in Trump’s meme coin constitute a tip or a potential solicitation?
Only in the US OF HAY…
Trump is openly taking bribes from any number of entities…foreign countries, tech execs, TV stations, universities. The White House is like a mob operation.
But this tip box is somehow important. Sure, it’s wrong and fair to point out. But these distractions mask the real issue that’s happening in the country
Unfortunately not everyone abides by these rules. Trump gets a Boeing 747 from Qater but a TSA employee is limited to $20 in food.
They should have made tRump and his degenerates pay them while they were shut down!
?Executive branch rules bar employees from directly or indirectly soliciting or accepting gifts from “prohibited sources” or gifts given because of official position?
who knew?
Here are your Mamdani voters on display.
Seems like a reasonable take by Gary. This shouldn’t have happened. Ethics still matters.
That said, the ‘fish rots at the head’ (because, meanwhile, our President and his family grift billions off crypto scams, and tens of millions off suing everyone, while federal workers livelihoods are threatened and our people starve. Think, if anyone from the other party did any of what he does…)
Yes, a government employee cannot accept gifts of $20 by the President can get a multi-million dollar airplane.
Comments not being posted!!??
If you make a complaint you are at risk of being put on the Do Not Fly list, or even deported. A true Patriot would never complain about a government official just doing their job.
Why are my comments not being posted?
trying to get a comment posted.
@Coffee Please, @Doug — This has nothing to do with the mayor-elect, but, nice try.
And, beware of the ‘boy who cried wolf’ when by calling opposing party ‘terrorists.’ Absurd.
So is this the source of DHS Noem’s TSA bonuses for Patriots? Heaven forbid it came out of her. 2 luxury Gulfsteam money. Rules and laws no longer apply ( unless you are a democrat which carries the most penalties ).
I think the word “illegal” had a.diiferent meaning when the USA considered felons as a no-go for president.
@Wiley Dog — Several came through; deep breaths; patience required sometimes; auto-mod on key words.
If the tip box is post screening how is it a bribe? It’s not like someone gave us a 747 and then we signed an agreement to drain their fighter pilots at our Air Force bases.
For folks like @Coffee Please…let me put this in terms you’ll understand. A Muslim government gave a US politician a gift. In exchange, the Muslim country can now train its military fighter pilots at our Air Force bases. Muslims. Getting military combat training on US soil…BY OUR MILITARY. What could possibly go wrong??? I mean, you do give off the impression that you think all Muslims are terrorists.
But, yes, let’s tar and feather the blue collar worker trying to feed their family.
Why would you tip any TSA employee? Would you stop your car and tip the crossing guard at a school zone.
Does the TSA have an affiliated charity for employee support? For example, the military has USO and local police/fire officials often organize independent auxiliary groups to benefit their colleagues, which are funded by unrestricted donations.