Empathy List Archives

MB

Michael Beason

Wed, Apr 1, 2020 8:59 PM

Greetings:

Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city?

Thank you.

Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535
City Attorney - Altus
509 S. Main St.
Altus, Oklahoma 73521

Greetings: Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city? Thank you. Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535 City Attorney - Altus 509 S. Main St. Altus, Oklahoma 73521

SP

Suzanne Paulson

Wed, Apr 1, 2020 9:12 PM

Typically the knee jerk reaction would be no the City can't spend public funds to purchase lunch for workers who come to the office vs. those who work remotely.

But, in the interest of discussion - can the City articulate a public purpose for providing lunch to workers? What is the time frame? Is there a limit on the amount provided? Has it been budgeted for? Is the City willing to pass a resolution or policy that would allow for this? With the state of the economy does the Council think this is a prudent way to spend money? Is it taxable as a benefit? Is the city going to accommodate all types of food preference, i.e. vegetarians, vegans, etc.

Arguably if the City can articulate a public purpose, has a policy in place adopted by the Council and has the funds budgeted - maybe the answer is yes.

OMAG's COVID-19 Info Page: https://www.omag.org/covid19-faq

Suzanne D. Paulson
General Counsel
spaulson@omag.org mailto:spaulson@omag.org

[OMAG-Logo]
3650 S. Boulevard
Edmond, OK 73013
Phone: 405.657.1444
Fax: 405.657.1401
OMAG Web Sitehttp://www.omag.org/

Follow us on:
[cid:image002.png@01D60840.4D872540]https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oklahoma-Municipal-Assurance-Group/217733311740931?ref=stream [cid:image003.png@01D60840.4D872540] https://twitter.com/omag1977 [cid:image004.png@01D60840.4D872540] http://www.linkedin.com/company/oklahoma-municipal-assurance-group

From: Oama oama-bounces@lists.imla.org On Behalf Of Michael Beason
Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:00 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis

Greetings:

Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city?

Thank you.

Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535
City Attorney - Altus
509 S. Main St.
Altus, Oklahoma 73521

Typically the knee jerk reaction would be no the City can't spend public funds to purchase lunch for workers who come to the office vs. those who work remotely. But, in the interest of discussion - can the City articulate a public purpose for providing lunch to workers? What is the time frame? Is there a limit on the amount provided? Has it been budgeted for? Is the City willing to pass a resolution or policy that would allow for this? With the state of the economy does the Council think this is a prudent way to spend money? Is it taxable as a benefit? Is the city going to accommodate all types of food preference, i.e. vegetarians, vegans, etc. Arguably if the City can articulate a public purpose, has a policy in place adopted by the Council and has the funds budgeted - maybe the answer is yes. OMAG's COVID-19 Info Page: https://www.omag.org/covid19-faq Suzanne D. Paulson General Counsel spaulson@omag.org<mailto:spaulson@omag.org> [OMAG-Logo] 3650 S. Boulevard Edmond, OK 73013 Phone: 405.657.1444 Fax: 405.657.1401 OMAG Web Site<http://www.omag.org/> Follow us on: [cid:image002.png@01D60840.4D872540]<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oklahoma-Municipal-Assurance-Group/217733311740931?ref=stream> [cid:image003.png@01D60840.4D872540] <https://twitter.com/omag1977> [cid:image004.png@01D60840.4D872540] <http://www.linkedin.com/company/oklahoma-municipal-assurance-group> From: Oama <oama-bounces@lists.imla.org> On Behalf Of Michael Beason Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:00 PM To: oama@lists.imla.org Subject: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis Greetings: Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city? Thank you. Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535 City Attorney - Altus 509 S. Main St. Altus, Oklahoma 73521

MR

Michael R. Vanderburg

Thu, Apr 2, 2020 12:36 AM

I have to assume that the workers who are coming to work at the city have been determined to be essential workers for the duration of the emergency. Seems to me, a method of preventing the essential workers from additional risk of infection could be a proper public purpose’

I would suggest that the amount be somehow tied to the travel reembursment amount for normal times, although that is more of a political issue than a legal one.

Mike Vanderburg

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: Suzanne Paulson via Oama
Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:13 PM
To: Michael Beason; oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: Re: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis

Typically the knee jerk reaction would be no the City can’t spend public funds to purchase lunch for workers who come to the office vs. those who work remotely.

But, in the interest of discussion - can the City articulate a public purpose for providing lunch to workers? What is the time frame? Is there a limit on the amount provided? Has it been budgeted for? Is the City willing to pass a resolution or policy that would allow for this? With the state of the economy does the Council think this is a prudent way to spend money? Is it taxable as a benefit? Is the city going to accommodate all types of food preference, i.e. vegetarians, vegans, etc.

Arguably if the City can articulate a public purpose, has a policy in place adopted by the Council and has the funds budgeted – maybe the answer is yes.

OMAG’s COVID-19 Info Page: https://www.omag.org/covid19-faq

Suzanne D. Paulson
General Counsel
spaulson@omag.org

3650 S. Boulevard
Edmond, OK 73013
Phone: 405.657.1444
Fax: 405.657.1401
OMAG Web Site

Follow us on:

From: Oama oama-bounces@lists.imla.org On Behalf Of Michael Beason
Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:00 PM
To: oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis

Greetings:

Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city?

Thank you.

Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535
City Attorney – Altus
509 S. Main St.
Altus, Oklahoma 73521

I have to assume that the workers who are coming to work at the city have been determined to be essential workers for the duration of the emergency. Seems to me, a method of preventing the essential workers from additional risk of infection could be a proper public purpose’ I would suggest that the amount be somehow tied to the travel reembursment amount for normal times, although that is more of a political issue than a legal one. Mike Vanderburg Sent from Mail for Windows 10 From: Suzanne Paulson via Oama Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:13 PM To: Michael Beason; oama@lists.imla.org Subject: Re: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis Typically the knee jerk reaction would be no the City can’t spend public funds to purchase lunch for workers who come to the office vs. those who work remotely. But, in the interest of discussion - can the City articulate a public purpose for providing lunch to workers? What is the time frame? Is there a limit on the amount provided? Has it been budgeted for? Is the City willing to pass a resolution or policy that would allow for this? With the state of the economy does the Council think this is a prudent way to spend money? Is it taxable as a benefit? Is the city going to accommodate all types of food preference, i.e. vegetarians, vegans, etc. Arguably if the City can articulate a public purpose, has a policy in place adopted by the Council and has the funds budgeted – maybe the answer is yes. OMAG’s COVID-19 Info Page: https://www.omag.org/covid19-faq Suzanne D. Paulson General Counsel spaulson@omag.org 3650 S. Boulevard Edmond, OK 73013 Phone: 405.657.1444 Fax: 405.657.1401 OMAG Web Site Follow us on: From: Oama <oama-bounces@lists.imla.org> On Behalf Of Michael Beason Sent: Wednesday, April 1, 2020 4:00 PM To: oama@lists.imla.org Subject: [Oama] Employee Lunches During COVID-19 Crisis Greetings: Some employees in my municipality have been permitted work from home etc. There is a proposal to provide lunches for those employees still working at city facilities. Any issues if the lunches are paid for by the city? Thank you. Michael T. Beason, OBA #18535 City Attorney – Altus 509 S. Main St. Altus, Oklahoma 73521