I guess I'll point out one more time that the OP has a number of choices he can buy at an employee discount (anything from Salsa, Surly, Rocky Mountain, Scott).

Is the Jamis (or Trek or Cannondale or Devinci or REI Novara) really that much better than the options he can buy at a discount?

If a friend came to me, and said, I'm working at bike store X, and can buy any of these bikes at a discount for a tour but nobody else at the store knows much about touring, is there something here that would work for me?... I'd work pretty hard to help him take advantage of the discount he has available.

I think it's an interesting question whether he'd be happier with a full-blown tourer (e.g, Surly LHT or Rocky Mountain Sherpa) vs. something lighter....but I wouldn't see why he needs to pay full price for anything given the wide range of options he has to save some $$. Remember since he can buy anything from QBP on a discount he could buy a Surly or Salsa frame and build up with components as well.