Special Rules

More About Gifts

If my unit has set a specific limit on accepting gifts (e.g., staff members can’t accept any gifts valued at more than $10), is it okay for me to accept any gifts that fall within this cost limit? 

Not necessarily. For example, if a vendor, in giving you a coffee mug worth less than $10, asks you to process his or her purchase order three days sooner than it otherwise would be processed, this request establishes a potential quid pro quo (the giving of something in return for something else).  Irrespective of how much the coffee mug is worth, the vendor’s request creates a potential conflict of interest. Plus, if you were to act on the request, you would be violating Michigan law.