ReturnOfCE t1_j68gl2f wrote
> Shapiro’s version allows employees to accept food or refreshments when “representing the Commonwealth in an official capacity” worth as much or less than the federal government’s per diem rate. Those rates already serve as the basis for other state public service compensation levels — for instance, they’re the model for state House and Senate members’ per diem rates.
> The exact numbers vary by meal and location, ranging from as low as $13 to as high as $36.
Can't wait for idiots to misconstrue this as quasi-legalization of bribery/corruption
KentuckYSnow t1_j68h8hw wrote
That's fine if he was reducing it to that, but he's increasing it from something more strict and we'd all be better off if they could accept nothing at all.
UnaffiliatedOpinion t1_j68vyao wrote
> Shapiro clarified that... that commonwealth employees should feel comfortable “getting a cup of coffee” with their constituents.
Zero-tolerance policies don't work anywhere else*, so why would we expect them to work here? If the policy is really so strict that accepting a $1 bottle of water is against the rules, I would certainly bet that many employees were looking the other way. That leads to a culture where "everyone is doing it" and nothing gets reported because everyone has broken the rule at one point or another. I would expect it to be more effective to carve out reasonable limits with strict reporting requirements. That way, we have some visibility into who's buying Harrisburg's lunches, while having a line in the sand where people might actually be willing to blow the whistle if they see someone go over the limit or not reporting.
- (yes, I edited out the part of Shapiro's quote where he says 'zero tolerance', because clearly there is up to $36 worth of tolerance)
TheMayorMikeJackson t1_j69a4w9 wrote
Actually people weren’t doing it. We couldn’t have coffee or doughnuts in early morning large meetings if penndot was attending cause of these rules
KentuckYSnow t1_j6bgfrc wrote
By nothing I mean someone shouldn't pay for your entire meal directly, if you're at aeeting and they just have coffee and donuts or what we that's for everyone and you just take a serving that's different than someone buying you dinner. And offering someone a water isn't buying in influence, it's just being courteous. Just saying that they shouldn't purchase for a state employee anything specifically, but common sense would say that if there's something so immaterial as a donut or a bottle of water that they can take it, but if someone wants to buy an entire meal, the state employee can pay for it themselves.
aboutsider t1_j6cmrt0 wrote
Why?
[deleted] t1_j68pxd2 wrote
This was posted either here or on r/pennsylvania last week, and it was clear most commenters hadn't read the article
goetic_cheshire t1_j6a7nzh wrote
Tbf they were definitely fishing for rage clicks over the article title
KeisterApartments t1_j6atd8g wrote
When I was a tax auditor for the state, I had to turn down coffee/bottled water countless times. I wasn't going to risk my job for a $2 bottle of Deer Park water but I wasn't going to decrease a deficiency for one either.
This is a common sense change.
hooch t1_j6a7lm2 wrote
PA state employees can now accept a free lunch. THE HORROR
Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments