Maricopa Steward

New Requlation for Gifts, Gratuities and Unrelated Compensation

Language for a new administrative regulation on Gifts, Gratuities and Unrelated Compensation was submitted for open comment twice (January 2009 and February 2009) then later to the CEC (May 2009 and September 2009) for review and discussion. The purpose of the regulation is to educate the MCCCD community on the standards for the acceptance of gifts, gratuities and unrelated compensation from vendors and others. The regulation will provide direction on the limitations in working with parties doing business or seeking to do business with the institution. The administrative regulation was adopted on September 22, 2009. Following is an excerpt and the full regulation can be found at AR 1.18.

Gifts

“Gift” means any gratuity, honoraria, favor, entertainment, gift card, lodging, discount, loan or other item having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts.
“Nominal Value” for this regulation means $50.00 or less.
“Token of Appreciation” means plaques, candy or similar commonly used inexpensive items given in gratitude.
“Advertising/Promotional Items” means items such as pens, pencils, mugs, tote bags and calendars, key chains, etc. that is given for advertising or promotional purposes.
“Vendor” means any company or individual in business to provide products or services to others. For purposes of this policy, the definition of vendor is not restricted to those individuals or companies that have already provided products or services to MCCCD.

An employee may accept a gift of nominal value, such as a plaque, pen, or similar memento customarily given as appreciation for providing a service to an entity external to MCCCD.

An employee may not accept, for personal use or ownership, gifts with a value in excess of $50 from a single source in a fiscal year. Likewise, gifts given to an employee’s family member or guest are also considered to have been received by the employee unless there is an independent relationship between the vendor and the employee’s family member or guest.

An employee may accept a gift of perishable food (e.g. fresh fruit basket, cookie assortment, candy, etc.) of nominal value that is not a meal. Such perishable food items shall be shared among the department or division.

An employee may accept a prize awarded through a random drawing or similar means while attending a conference, convention, seminar, institute or similar activity.

An employee shall not accept cash or currency, or any other item of more than nominal value from anyone if it could be interpreted as a bribe or enticement to receive MCCCD business.

If an employee receives something of greater than nominal value, the employee shall refuse it or, as soon as possible, disclose the circumstances relating to the acceptance of the item(s) to the Vice President of Administrative Services or Vice Chancellor for Business Services and deliver it to the appropriate college or District designee where it shall become the property of MCCCD.

Meals, Beverages and Entertainment

If there is the expectation of future financial benefit for the vendor, then an employee shall not allow any meal, beverage or cost of entertainment to be purchased for the employee or any member of the employee’s family.
An employee may allow a meal or beverage to be purchased by a vendor for the employee only if the meal or beverage is served as part of a banquet or dining function offered to participants at a conference, convention or similar activity.
An MCCCD employee who is also employed by another company may have a meal, beverage or the cost of entertainment purchased within the context of the other employment.

Travel

An employee shall not engage in any travel activity where the expenses are paid for by a vendor and where that activity could be interpreted as a bribe or enticement in order to receive MCCCD business.

An employee shall use paid leave for all time spent in travel that is not business-related that occurs during the employee’s normal working hours.

Non-Credit Course

An employee or other person participating in travel with a non-credit class shall not accept payment or reimbursement for any expenses associated with travel from the travel agency or similar entity.

Discounts

For purposes of this regulation, a “discount” is a reduction in the cost of goods or services charged by any entity to an MCCCD employee or student by virtue of that person’s employment or enrollment at an MCCCD college or location.

The following are acceptable discounts:

A discount that is part of an established and recognized program within MCCCD, such as the ‘employee store,’ wellness, or trip reduction programs, and is offered uniformly to all employees of MCCCD or of a member institution of MCCCD.
A discount available pursuant to a policy in continuous effect and a recognized component of a benefits or compensation package that is recognized by the MCCCD Benefits and Compensation Department.
A discount offered by a vendor for employees or students of educational institutions, regardless of whether such a vendor does business with MCCCD (i.e.: educational discounted software).

The following is an unacceptable discount:

A discount that is offered to select employees on an ad hoc basis as a result of the employee performing his or her job duties or as an incentive to influence conduct from a person seeking to obtain a contractual or other arrangement with MCCCD.

Notice to MCCCD employees of the availability of any discount shall be conveyed in a manner that neither implicitly or expressly endorses nor otherwise speaks to the quality of the goods or services.

Honoraria and Similar Consideration

An employee may accept an honorarium, stipend or similar compensation or consideration from an entity external to MCCCD for an activity that is not business-related if:

the entire activity occurs outside the employee’s normal working hours; or
the employee uses personal leave or pre-approved vacation hours for the portion of the activity that overlaps the employee’s normal working hours; or
the employee remits the honorarium, stipend, or similar compensation or consideration to the Vice President of Administrative Services at the location where the employee works.

An employee may receive a modest honorarium or stipend for time spent preparing for presentations (keynote addresses, etc.) that are MCCCD business-related. Modest is considered to be limited or moderate in the amount of the honorarium. In addition, activities such as accreditation visits that may be considered MCCCD business-related due to the inherent nature of the event and the professional expertise of the employee(s), and that involve the offer of an honorarium, stipend or similar compensation or consideration from an entity external to MCCCD, are acceptable under the following conditions:

If the activity occurs during work hours, the employee shall submit the honorarium or stipend to the college or foundation; or
If the employee uses personal leave or pre-approved vacation hours for the portion of the activity that overlaps the employee’s normal working hours.

Resource Development

To the extent that employees of the MCCCD are engaged in an official capacity with duties that involve resource development and such involvement requires attending local events that are either hosted by or attended by vendors, such participation may be acceptable if it can be established that the event could result in expansion of District or college resources and that participation is disclosed in advance with the Vice Chancellor of Business Services. Attendance at vendor-invited events that would involve travel is not acceptable.

College Course Materials

See Board Auxiliary.

Solicited Course Materials

An employee may keep any solicited course materials and utilize them for professional use.
The publisher will be given the opportunity to retrieve unwanted solicited materials.
Unwanted solicited materials that are not retrieved by the publisher and that are currently in print or under current copyright should be considered the property of MCCCD.

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