Post-employment restrictions – frequently asked questions

Yes.  The post-employment restrictions do not prevent you from working for any employer.  The post-employment restrictions limit your ability to interact with government officials on behalf of your new employer.  Generally, if you have no reason to contact or appear before the Postal Service about any matter related to your new job, the post-employment restrictions do not apply.  The post-employment restrictions also do not apply if you contact or appear before the Postal Service on behalf of another Federal agency.

Contact means interacting via telephone, email, meeting, conference call, letter, or signed document, or having any other interaction with the Postal Service if the purpose of your interaction is to exercise influence on behalf of your new employer.  Even mere attendance at a meeting with the Postal Service could implicate the post-employment restrictions if your attendance is intended to exercise influence on behalf of your new employer.

Here is a brief summary of the three post-employment restrictions that might apply:

1. The first restriction is referred to as the Permanent or Lifetime Restriction.  This restriction prevents a former Postal Service employee from contacting the Postal Service on behalf of their new employer regarding any “particular matter” involving “specific parties” that they worked on while employed by the Postal Service.  The restriction lasts for the lifetime of the matter – not your lifetime.  For example, if you were the contracting officer’s representative on a contract (a particular matter) between the ABC Company and the Postal Service (specific parties) or you evaluated ABC Company’s performance under the contract while you were a Postal Service employee, once you leave the Postal Service, you must not contact the Postal Service on behalf of another party (including, but not limited to, ABC Company) about that contract.  And please remember, this restriction lasts as long as the contract is in effect.
2. The second restriction is referred to as the Two-Year Restriction.  Let’s assume that your subordinate staff worked on the ABC Contract.  You had oversight over your subordinates’ activities.  However, and unlike the earlier example, you did not participate “personally and substantially” in the work yourself.  Let’s also assume that this contract was in effect during your last year of employment with the Postal Service.  Although you can work for ABC Company (or any other company) after you leave the Postal Service, you could not contact the Postal Service about the contract or otherwise represent the interests of ABC Company (or any other company) in its dealings with the Postal Service about this contract for the first two years following your separation from the Postal Service.
3. The third restriction is often referred to as the one-year “cooling off” period.  This restriction only applies to former senior employees.  Senior employees are those employees who made a certain salary level or more at the time they left the Postal Service.  Although the salary figure changes each year, a senior employee is one who left federal service in calendar year 2026 with a salary of $197,220 or more, or in calendar year 2025 with a salary of $195,231 or more.  If you qualify as a “senior employee,” the restriction is for one year.  If you left the Postal Service more than twelve months ago, this restriction no longer applies to you, no matter how high your salary was at the time you retired.  Assuming that you were a senior employee at the time you left the Postal Service, the general rule is that you are prohibited from contacting the Postal Service about any matter on behalf of your new employer (or anyone else) for one full year.  Let’s assume you worked in Operations and you were responsible for mail processing operations.  You now work for a vending machine company that would like to put trendy new energy drinks in employee break rooms at a huge discount.  You cannot contact your former colleague and friend in Supply Management about a test program to put this product in break room vending machines.  Remember, if you are a senior employee, all contacts on behalf of your new employer (or anyone else) for one full year would violate this criminal law.

You may golf with your postal friend.  However, keep in mind that even on the golf course, you should not discuss the interests of your new employer.  Although you should feel free to continue your valued and long-standing personal relationships with your former postal colleagues, remember – this is a criminal law and you do not want to violate it.  Keep your conversations personal and you will not violate the post-employment restrictions.  Also, keep in mind that your former colleague must still comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch.  Therefore, he could not give you preferential treatment simply because you are friends or former colleagues.  He also could not give you special access to Postal Service employees, resources, or equipment because you are friends or former colleagues.  And, of course, your former colleague remains subject to the gifts from outside sources provision.  Your postal friend could not accept a gift from you that is offered on behalf of your new employer or because of his postal position.  So please do not ask for any favors or offer to pay the green fees.  Otherwise, you may get a friend into an ethics dilemma.

Your postal knowledge and expertise may be exactly why your new employer wanted to hire you in the first place. Please note that you could share your knowledge, skills, and ideas with your new employer in its boardroom, its office, over lunch, or in any other non-postal setting. You could even tell your new employer who to contact at the Postal Service and what questions to ask. You just could not make the contact yourself. One other important note – remember that nonpublic information should never be disclosed. For example, if you learned nonpublic information while you were still a Postal Service employee, you could not disclose that information simply because you have left the Postal Service. If in doubt, call the Ethics and Legal Compliance team for guidance.

Absolutely, these laws apply regardless of why or how you ended your postal employment.

Yes, the same rules apply.

The good news is that the post-employment restrictions generally do not apply when your new line of employment involves working for the federal government. When you are working through a personal services contract for the Postal Service, you are really doing the work of the Postal Service. Be careful of your status, however. If you incorporate, you will be subject to the post-employment restrictions because then you will be acting on behalf of another entity. Also, be mindful that there are certain postal policies that apply to contracting with former employees. Certain personal service contracts require approval from senior leadership.

The post-employment restrictions are contained in the United States Code, specifically at 18 U.S.C. § 207. You can reference the relevant federal regulations at 5 C.F.R. § 2641. If you violate these laws, you could face prison time and a substantial fine. You should know that the Office of the Inspector General regularly investigates allegations of post-employment violations. If the Inspector General’s investigation determines that there is some evidence that a violation occurred, that office is obligated to present their findings to the Department of Justice to consider prosecution. So please, take these restrictions seriously.

The Ethics and Legal Compliance team at Headquarters is available to advise you about these post-employment restrictions before you leave the Postal Service, as well as after leaving the Postal Service.  In fact, it is advisable to contact the Ethics and Legal Compliance team before you accept a new position to ensure that you understand how these restrictions might apply to your specific situation.  Some of the questions you will be asked during these discussions include:

1. When did you leave the Postal Service?
2. What was your salary when you left the Postal Service?
3. What was your last position?
4. In which organization within the Postal Service were you employed before you left the Postal Service?
5. Who was your immediate supervisor before you left the Postal Service?
6. Did you hold any other positions during your last twelve months of your postal employment?
7. Did you perform any work related to your new or prospective employer while employed by the Postal Service?
8. Did your subordinate employees, if any, perform any work related to your new or prospective employer during your last twelve months of your postal employment?
9. Does your new or prospective employer desire you to work on a matter on which you worked while employed by the Postal Service that involved parties other than your new or prospective employer?
10. Does your new or prospective employer desire you to work on a matter on which your subordinate employees worked during your last twelve months of your postal employment that involved parties other than your new or prospective employer?
11. If you respond yes to questions 7, 8, 9, or 10, you will need to describe your official duties and the nature of your work or your subordinate employees’ work, as well as a description of any relevant particular matters on which you or they worked.