Dive Brief:

• A sanitation employee in Queens, New York, was forced to retire from the New York City Department of Sanitation after accepting a $20 cash tip for removing a heavy load of trash.
• If civil servants accept extra payment for doing their job, it becomes a violation of the city ethics rules.
• Lenworth Dixon, the man who accepted the tip, had been a sanitation employee for 24 years. In addition to losing his job, he also had to pay a $1,500 fine. The city's Conflict of Interest Board made the ruling. 

Dive Insight:

A homeowner asked Mr. Dixon to load wood furniture and bulk refuse in September. It is unclear how the tip exchange came to light.