Tis the season; Standards for accepting gifts?

[Ogee Oglethorpe]

Since it's just about that time of year, I thought I'd throw this feeler out there.

Having worked quite a while in the public sector (but have since gone to the "dark side" of private work), the question always comes up this time of year as to what is proper/appropriate for a public employee to accept as a gift from a contractor, vendor, consultant.

Opinions vary all over the map on this one, everybody's interpretation is a little bit different. Some companies/agencies actually spell out what you can and can't accept, some attempt to give broad definitions, some simply address it with an annual Christmas time memo to be careful. "Use common sense", which is a dangerous path.

Having worked for several agencies, it changes dramatically from place to place. When working in MN, some even frowned on accepting a working meeting over lunch (which I thought was ridiculous). It was common to accept a hat from a contractor, something of little or no value.

Here in Nevada, where corruption and graft are perhaps a little more prevalent (at least by reputation anyway), it's completely different. Bottles of booze or hams over the holidays, $100, $150 or $200 rounds of golf or entries in golf tournaments, gift baskets, and I've heard rumors of much, much more extravagant gift offerings.

Perhaps this is why a handful of the last County Commission is in the clink right now?

So what's your barometer? The general perception is that those that are most outraged by this type of activity are ones that "don't get to play those types of games" in their own work place and therefore a large portion of their ire is jealousy (for lack of a better word).

At the end of the day, however, for better or worse, that's just how the game is played. The industry calls it "marketing" and some firms/individuals are more ethical than others. I don't see it changing anytime soon.

[Schnoodler]

I would call it relationship building.

I think once the gift becomes something other than a 'we're thinking of you' gift, then its too much. In the public sector that threshold should be quite low.

In the private sector I guess it's the boss' call. He'll have to decide when it can affect your decision making and skew who you're working for. So I don't believe there is a one size fits all answer.

[MNSnowman]

Here's the Minnesota statute that limits gifts for public employees:

15.43 ACCEPTANCE OF ADVANTAGE BY STATE EMPLOYEE; PENALTY.

Subdivision 1.Financial interest of agents.

No employee of the state or of the University of Minnesota in direct contact with suppliers or potential suppliers to the state or the university, or who may directly or indirectly influence a purchasing decision or contract by establishing specification, testing purchased products, evaluating contracted services, or otherwise has official involvement in the purchasing or contracting process may:

(1) have any financial interest or have any personal beneficial interest directly or indirectly in contracts or purchase orders for goods or services used by, or purchased for resale or furnished to a department or agency of the state or the university; or

(2) accept directly or indirectly from a person, firm, or corporation to which a contract or purchase order has been or may be, awarded, a rebate, gift, money, or anything of value other than items of nominal value. No such employee may further accept any promise, obligation or contract for future reward.

Through the early 1990s, there wasn't much attention paid to it when I was with private employers ... but the two companies I worked for during the 1990s established similar personnel policies.