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Code No. 402.4
Staff Personnel
Gifts to Employees
Employees may receive a gift on behalf of the school district. Employees will
not, either directly or indirectly, solicit, accept or receive any gift, series
of gifts or an honorarium unless the donor does not meet the definition of
“restricted donor” stated below or the gift or honorarium does not meet the
definition of gift or honorarium stated below.
A “restricted donor” is defined as a person or other entity which:
Is
seeking to be, or is a party to, any one or any combination of sales,
purchases, leases or contracts to, from or with the school district;
Will be directly and substantially affected financially by the performance
or nonperformance of the employee’s official duty in a way that is greater
than the effect on the public generally or on a substantial class of persons
to which the person belongs as a member of a profession, occupation,
industry or region; or
Is a lobbyist or a client of a lobbyist with respect to matters within the
school district’s jurisdiction.
A “gift” is the giving of anything of value in return for which something of
equal or greater value is not given or received. However, “gift” does not
include any of the following:
Contributions to a candidate or a candidate’s committee;
Information material relevant to an employee’s official function, such as
books, pamphlets, reports, documents, periodicals or other information that
is recorded in a written, audio or visual format;
Anything received from a person related within the fourth degree by kinship
or marriage, unless the donor is acting as an agent or intermediary for
another person not so related;
An
inheritance;
Anything available or distributed to the general public free of charge
without regard to the official status of the employee;
Items received from a charitable, professional, educational or business
organization to which the employee belongs as a dues paying member if the
items are given to all members of the organization without regard to an
individual member’s status or positions held outside of the organization and
if the dues paid are not inconsequential when compared to the items
received;
Actual expenses of an employee for food, beverages, travel and lodging for a
meeting, which is given in return for participation in a panel or speaking
engagement at the meeting when the expenses relate directly to the day or
days on which the employee has participation or presentation
responsibilities;
Plaques or items of negligible resale value given as recognition for public
service;
Nonmonetary items with a value of less than three dollars that are received
from any one donor during one calendar day;
Items or services solicited or given to a state, national or regional
organization in which the state of Iowa or a school district is a
member for purposes of a business or educational conference, seminar or
other meeting or solicited by or given for the same purposes to state,
national or regional government organizations whose memberships and officers
are primarily composed of state or local government officials or employees
for purposes of a business or educational conference, seminar or other
meeting;
Items or services received by members or representatives of members as part
of a regularly scheduled event that is part of a business or educational
conference, seminar or other meeting that is sponsored and directed by any
state, national or regional government organization in which the state of
Iowa or a political subdivision of the state of Iowa is a member or received
at such an event by members or representatives of members of state, national
or regional government organizations whose memberships and officers are
primarily composed of state or local government officials or employees;
Funeral flowers or memorials to a church or nonprofit organization;
Gifts which are given to an employee for the employee’s wedding or
twenty-fifth or fiftieth wedding anniversary;
Payment of salary or expenses by the school district for the cost of
attending a meeting of a subunit or an agency when the employee whose
expenses are being paid serves on a board, commission, committee, council or
other subunit of the agency and the employee is not entitled to receive
compensation or reimbursement of expenses from the school district for
attending the meeting; or
Gifts other than food, beverages, travel and lodging received by an employee
which are received from a person who is a citizen of a country other than
the United States and is given during a ceremonial presentation or as a
result of a custom of the other country and is of personal value only to the
employee.
Actual registration costs for informational meetings or sessions which
assist a public official or public employee in the performance of the
person’s official functions. The costs of food, drink, lodging and travel
are not “registration costs” under this paragraph. Meetings or sessions
which a public official or public employee attends for personal or
professional licensing purposes are not “informational meetings or sessions
which assist a public official or public employee in the performance of the
person’s official functions” under this paragraph.
An “honorarium” is anything of value that is accepted by, or on behalf of, an
employee as consideration for an appearance, speech or article. An honorarium
does not include any of the following:
Actual expenses of an employee for registration, food, beverages, travel or
lodging for a meeting, which is given in return for participation in a panel
or speaking engagement at a meeting when the expenses relate directly to the
day or days on which the employee has participation or presentation
responsibilities;
A nonmonetary gift or series of nonmonetary gifts donated within thirty days
to a public body, an educational or charitable organization or the Iowa
Department of General Services; or
A payment made to an employee for services rendered as part of a private
business, trade or profession in which the employee is engaged if the
payment is commensurate with the actual services rendered and is not being
made because of the person’s status as an employee of the district, but,
rather, because of some special expertise or other qualification.
It is the responsibility of each employee to know when it is appropriate to
accept or reject gifts or an honorarium.
Legal Reference: Iowa Code Chapter 68B (2003).
1972 Op. Att’y Gen. 276.
1970 Op. Att’y Gen. 319
Cross Reference: 200 Series Gifts to Board of Directors
400 Series Employee Conflict of Interest
700 Series Gifts-Grants-Bequests
Approved: August 16, 2004
Reviewed: April 18, 2006
Revised:
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