I am talking small gift buying here, maybe something like an appreciation of loyalty type of gift. Are there certain items that are on the no and the yes list I should be worried about?
If it's meant to be just a small gift, anything over $20 is out - as well as gifts that LOOK like they're more than $20. Avoid anything too loaded, such as jewelry with deeply-emotional inscriptions. Keep it simple.
It depends on who it is for and what type of loyalty you want to award. If its a long time of service, naturally it would merit something more valuable than a shorter service.