Company “asks” Its Employees To Contribute Towards A Christmas Gift For The Owner. Is This Legal? Details Below

Someone I know sent me this. This apparently is stapled to their paychecks every December.

“Dear Employees- It's that time of year again and we will be collecting for Tommy's Christmas Gift. The amount we will be collecting from each employee will be $25.00. Please try to hand in your money to Joanne by Monday, December 16th or earlier. Thank you for your generosity. NAME: $25.00”

“Tommy” is the owner of the company and also a multi-millionaire. “Joanne” is his sister/head of customer service. I asked if it’s required and they said not technically, however the people who have said no in the past/didn’t contribute were short $25 on their Christmas bonuses those years, which apparently the bonus is only $100, and that really can mean a lot for struggling families. It’s immoral in my opinion, but I don’t know if this is technically illegal. I talked to some friends about this and they have had differing opinions on the matter, but none of us are legal experts. So what do you all think?