St. Olaf College Gift, Gift Card/Certificate and Flower Policy

Rationale for Policy:

The College seeks to recognize individual employees in an equitable manner with respect to use of College funds while complying with relevant federal and state guidelines. This policy is intended to cover gifts or flowers provided to employees. The College recognizes that certain administrative offices will be providing flowers for constituents of the College, (Dean of Students for students, President/Advancement and College Relations for all other constituents), and this is handled separately from this policy.

Policy:

St. Olaf College does not allow gifts or flowers to employees to be purchased with college funds, except as noted below ,. It is St. Olaf College’s policy that recognition of faculty or staff contributions should be made either through monetary means (salary increases or other Human Resource programs) or through community celebratory activities (e.g. years of service recognition).

Allowed gifts :

  • In the event of the hospitalization or death of an employee or relative covered by this policy, the Human Resources Office will send a gift, such as a floral arrangement “…on behalf of the entire St. Olaf College Community.”
  • In the event of the birth or adoption of a child to an employee, the Human Resources Office will send an appropriate, congratulatory gift, such as a floral arrangement to the hospital or home of the employee “…on behalf of the entire St. Olaf College Community”.
  • In the event of Retirement or years of service, The Human Resources Office will coordinate a community celebration.
  • To recognize an employee who is leaving the College after more than a year of service, a department has the discretion to use departmental funds for a casual food/drink gathering. Supervisors should contact the Human Resources Office for general spending guidelines.

Disallowed gifts:

  • College funds are not to be used for gifts and flowers for other purposes (weddings, showers, birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, etc.)
  • College funds are not to be used for the purchase of gift cards or certificates of any amount, as they may create a taxable event for the employee (TAM-108577-04).

Definitions and Procedures:

  • The employee’s department is responsible for notifying the Human Resource Office of the event that requires acknowledgement.
  • For flowers, the Human Resource Office will place the order with a local florist, providing the information provided by the employing department.
  • For the purpose of this policy, covered relatives include: the employee, the spouse/partner of the employee, parents (including step-parents and in-laws), children (including step-children), siblings, and the employee’s grandparents.
  • The cost of flowers or donation will be covered by the Human Resources Department.