Pizza Hut Employee Manual

[Jackie Bullinger]

Whetheryou are building your own handbook, having one created for you, or using a template, it should be well structured with easily accessible information. A useful handbook should list the following:

A handbook can also strengthen your team and have everybody on the same page from the start. Your employee handbook should explain what is expected of every team member and precisely how you want things to be done; leave no room for confusion.

As a new establishment, this is a great opportunity while in the planning stages to bounce ideas off of one another and put into place what actually works. If you believe in every word written in your manual, your team will too.

The federal government and the House of Representatives have long recognized that public office is a public trust. [1] The public has a right to expect that you are impartial in performing your official duties and are not influenced by gifts or favors.[2] However, Congress also recognizes that you will be offered gifts that do not raise any genuine ethical concerns, or that could cause needless embarrassment or hurt feelings if denied.

The limitations on gifts come from many sources, including the Constitution, federal statutes, and the House Rules.[3] These sources place limits on accepting gifts, but also have exceptions to those limits.[4]

A gift is something with monetary value for which you do not have to pay. Gifts include gratuities, favors, discounts, entertainment, hospitality, loans, forbearances, services, training, travel expenses, in-kind contributions, advanced payments, and reimbursements after the fact.[5] The Committee only considers the fair market value of the gift you receive, not whether the person or organization offering it to you paid full price.

Gifts can be tangible and intangible. Examples of intangible gifts include, but are not limited to, discounts, forbearances, below fair market interest rates, selling property for more than its market value, purchasing property for less than its fair market value, and receiving compensation that is greater than the fair market value of the services you provided.

Attendance at a meeting or informational briefing generally does not have monetary value. But during that meeting or briefing, you may be offered a meal or packet of informational materials that does have monetary value. Please see Exceptions to the Gift Rule for Permissible Gifts to determine whether you may accept those additional gifts.

Interns who are not paid by the House and fellows who are not paid by the House are not House employees. Detailees, except in limited circumstances, are also not House employees.[11] The Committee recommends that each office using the services of a non-House employee still require the non-House employee to adhere to all the House Rules to protect the integrity of the House.

Members-elect are subject to the Gift Rule when their pay and allowances begin. For Members elected in a regular election, pay and allowances begin at the start of the new Congress. For Members elected in a special election, pay and allowances begin the day after the special election.

The Gift Rule applies to Members, officers, and employees at all times, even during lapses in appropriations or if you are on Leave Without Pay status, family leave, annual leave, sick leave, or administrative leave.[14]

If multiple people or organizations give you a gift, the gift is from all of the sources collectively. You may not divide the value of a gift between sources to try to fit the gift into an exception to the Gift Rule.

You may not ask for a gift for yourself or someone else.[15] Even if you would otherwise be able to accept the gift, you may not accept the gift if you or someone else asked for it. This restriction applies to anything that may benefit the office or you, personally. The Committee does not apply this restriction to requesting gifts from relatives or establishing a gift registry for a special occasion, if the gifts are not for official activities.

You may be able to help with solicitation or fundraising efforts that benefit charitable endeavors. You may also be allowed to solicit a gift in connection with the Congressional Art Competition, the App Challenge, or other officially-sanctioned competitions. See Members, Officers, and Employees Participating in Fundraising Activities and Request to Solicit for Officially-Sanctioned Competitions.

A Warning. People can and do face severe criminal penalties for violating these restrictions.[16] Members accused of violating these restrictions have also been expelled from the House or resigned before a final Committee decision was reached.[17]

You may not accept gifts offered in exchange for official actions.[18] The restrictions apply to official actions you are asked to take in the future and in return for official actions you already took. The restrictions apply whether you are engaging in quid pro quo, or just being offered a reward for your official actions.[19] The gift and the official action must have a specific link.[20]

You may still accept gifts that are expressions of goodwill or general appreciation that are not tied to a specific official action.[21] You may also accept token gifts in the form of perishable items like home baked goods or flowers, or decorative items for display in the office or donated to charity.[22]

Additionally, you may not receive any compensation for assisting people and organizations outside the House with matters before the federal government, or in any particular matter where the federal government is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.[23] You also may not solicit or accept anything of value, including campaign contributions, for helping someone get a federal position.[24] See Outside Employment and Income (page 185) for more information about these prohibitions.

If someone offers you a gift you either may not accept, or do not want to accept, you may simply decline the gift. See Gifts from Foreign Governments and International Organizations if a foreign government official is offering the gift.

You may always return a gift to the person who gave it to you, whether the gift does not meet an exception to the Gift Rule, or you simply do not want it. You should return the item promptly.[25] If the gift came to the official office, please contact the Committee on House Administration for ways to pay for return postage.

If you receive a gift you may not accept, you may pay fair market value for the gift and keep it.[26] If you pay fair market value, the item will no longer be a gift, but rather a commercial transaction. How the Committee calculates fair market value varies depending on the gift.[27] See How to Value a Gift to determine what amount you should repay.

If you receive a gift you do not wish to pay for and is impracticable to return because it is perishable, you may donate the gift to a charity or throw it away.[28] You may also donate a tangible item or throw it away if you have made every effort to return it and you cannot find the donor.[29] Donating or destroying a non-perishable tangible gift is an extreme measure. You should make every possible effort to return the gift first.

The Gift Rule starts with the premise that you may not accept a gift unless it meets an exception to the Gift Rule.[30] Both the Gift Rule and other sources, such as the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act (FGDA) and the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA), provide many exceptions. A gift only needs to meet one exception for you to accept it.[31]

Even if you may be able to accept a gift under a technical reading of any exception discussed below, you should still be mindful of the motives behind any gift. You should always exercise discretion and be careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety when accepting a gift.[32]

You may accept a gift worth less than $50 ($49.99 or less before tax) from someone who is not a registered federal lobbyist, foreign agent, or entity that employs or retains a registered federal lobbyist or foreign agent, with some caveats.[38] The caveats are

You may accept anything that a relative offers you, if your relative is the source of the gift, and not merely passing along a gift from someone else.[40] The following individuals are your relatives.

You may be able to accept a gift that is offered because of personal friendship and not related to your position with the House.[43] This exception does not require that you be friends with someone before you joined the House, nor does it prohibit friendships with registered federal lobbyists or foreign agents. But you should always be mindful of why you were offered the gift and who the true source of the gift may be.

You may accept a gift from another Member, officer, or employee of the House or Senate if the person giving you the gift is either your direct or indirect supervisor or your peer.[46] You may not accept a gift from someone you supervise unless the gift is given for a special occasion.[47] Special occasions include birthdays, holidays, marriages, births or adoption of children, anniversaries, retirements, deaths, and other similar occasions for which gifts are traditionally given. You should never be pressured to make or contribute to a gift.

Providing personal services without compensation may also be a gift.[48] Supervisors should not accept uncompensated personal services from subordinate staff for services the supervisor would usually pay for if there is no connection to legitimate, official activity.[49]

This exception only applies to lodging and meals in the home or personally-owned facility. The exception does not apply to meals at restaurants while visiting someone, nor to someone paying for your hotel room while visiting. Those gifts may be allowed under separate exceptions.

You may accept anything that is paid for by the federal government, a state or local government, or secured under a contract with the federal government.[52] The domestic government agency or entity must directly pay for the gift and may not merely be a conduit for someone else.[53]

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