Most employers should address whether employees may receive gifts, meals or offers of entertainment from vendors, clients or other business contacts; often an employer must implement a gift policy to prevent any conflicts of interest and, in some industries, to ensure that the employer does not violate any laws or regulations.
Keith Clouse, a Dallas, Texas employment law attorney, notes that a gift policy can be a simple, short statement that is included in the company’s employee handbook. Typically, an employer will require employees to refuse any gift, meal or offer of entertainment from a vendor, client or other business contact if the item exceeds a certain nominal monetary value, such as $10. (Most employers allow employees to accept gifts of a nominal monetary value, such as pens, calendars and breakfast muffins, because the receipt of these gifts will not likely induce the employee to take any action on the giver’s behalf.) A gift policy should state that an employee’s failure to comply with the policy could result in disciplinary action.
To ask Mr. Clouse to draft a gift policy or to speak to him about another employment law matter, contact the labor and employment law firm of Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at [email protected].
