Final answer:
The item that the dealer must immediately return to the Dealer Board when a salesperson leaves the dealership is the license plate. This action is required to maintain regulatory compliance and ensure the returned plates are no longer associated with the former employee.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a salesperson voluntarily leaves or is discharged from a dealership, the dealer must immediately return that salesperson's license plate to the Dealer Board. This process is a regulatory requirement often stipulated by state motor vehicle industry laws to ensure control and accountability for dealership-issued plates.
In the context of dealership operations, license plates are specifically issued as demonstration plates that salespersons use for allowing potential customers to test drive vehicles. They are considered property of the dealership, and consequently, the state's regulatory authority, which is the Dealer Board in this scenario. When a salesperson's employment ends, these plates must be returned to prevent unauthorized use and to relinquish the salesperson's right to use them from a legal standpoint.
The async of dealerships in managing such administrative tasks reflects their compliance with legal standards and ensures that former employees are not mistakenly represented as being associated with the dealer's inventory or services post their tenure.