Definitions
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Outside Employment - Any activity (including consulting) which is beyond a UCAR employee's normal UCAR responsibilities and which may result in compensation to the employee beyond that provided by UCAR.
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Consulting - Work in which an individual (the consultant) offers expert or professional advice or services as an independent contractor (according to IRS regulations) and for which the consultant is paid a fee.
Responsibilities
- The Vice-President for Finance and Administration and the appropriate member of the President's Council are responsible for approving in advance and in writing any outside employment activities that are within the scope of UCAR work.
- Directors (NCAR Laboratory or UCP Program) are responsible for ensuring that outside employment does not interfere with an employee's performance of normal UCAR duties. They are also responsible for granting approval in advance and in writing of all outside employment that takes place during an employee's normal working hours, or uses expertise derived from UCAR work, or where an apparent conflict of interest may exist.
- All employees must adhere to the provisions of this policy, ensure that any areas of potential conflict of interest are avoided or resolved, and obtain appropriate approvals before concluding any outside employment agreements, commencing work, or accepting compensation. Employees must declare outside employment or consulting on the Conflict of Interest Statement if the activity presents an actual or potential conflict of interest. Employees must complete the Conflict of Interest Statement upon hire and update the statement every year.
Conditions of Outside Employment
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Permissible Activities: Except as prohibited by this policy, outside employment activities are generally allowable as long as they are undertaken in accordance with the following procedures. Outside employment, including consulting, for the UCAR Foundation, its subsidiaries, and other organizations in which UCAR has an interest is permitted as specified in these procedures.
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Effect on Performance: Employees must not engage in outside employment that impairs the effective discharge of their UCAR responsibilities. Conflicts between UCAR and outside employment must be resolved in favor of UCAR's requirements.
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Conflict of Interest : UCAR employees must not participate in any arrangement that results in actual or perceived conflict of interest. For example, a personal conflict of interest arises when an employee's actions are influenced or are perceived to be influenced by a desire for personal gain to the detriment of UCAR. Questions about possible appearance of a conflict of interest must be resolved before outside employment agreements are negotiated or entered into, before work commences, and before compensation is received. See Conflict of Interest policy, for further information.
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Protection of Intellectual Property : An employee who engages in outside employment that utilizes substantially the same expertise as in his or her UCAR position may compromise UCAR's ownership of, and rights to, intellectual property. Employees must not compromise their obligations and responsibilities to UCAR when engaged in outside employment and are subject to the provisions of UCAR's Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer policy.
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Retention of Compensation : Employees may retain compensation for outside employment activities conducted in accordance with provisions of this policy. Any time spent on such activities during an employee's normal work hours must be accounted for as personal vacation or unpaid leave of absence, consistent with time-reporting practices for exempt and nonexempt employees.
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Support : Employees who are engaged in outside employment under this policy may not utilize UCAR facilities, resources, property, telephones, equipment, or staff in support of such activities. Outside employment activities may not be conducted on UCAR premises.
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Approval : The appropriate UCAR/UCP Program Director or NCAR Associate Director must approve in advance and in writing outside employment activities that take place during periods when an employee would normally be expected to be available to UCAR, or that use expertise derived from UCAR work, or where an apparent conflict of interest may exist. In addition, the Vice-President for Finance and Administration and the appropriate member of the President's Council must approve in advance and in writing any outside employment activities that are within the scope of UCAR work.
Activities Not Subject to the Outside Employment Policy
The following activities are usually considered to be appropriate UCAR responsibilities and are not considered outside employment, as long as they are limited to reasonable amounts of time and do not interfere with the performance of regular UCAR duties. These activities may be performed during the normal course of an employee's work day. Compensation for such activities, for example honorariums, may be retained by the employee.
- jury duty;
- reserve military duty;
- service in the public interest (provided there is no conflict or appearance of conflict of interest) including, for example:
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serving on government committees or boards,
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performing services for nonprofit organizations,
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performing services for the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, or other learned societies;
- media appearances related to the employee's work;
- educational activities related to the employee's work;
- scientific and professional development leaves.
Impermissible Outside Employment
Outside employment that adversely affects the performance of an employee's UCAR job, that creates a conflict or an unresolved appearance of a conflict of interest, or that conflicts with provisions of UCAR's Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer policy is prohibited, as specified in Procedures 1B and 1C above. In addition, the following activities are prohibited:
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Legal Actions against the Federal Government and Other Sponsors: Detailed information about employee participation in legal actions against the Federal government or UCAR sponsors is provided in UCAR Conflict of Interest policy.
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Consulting within UCAR's Divisions and Programs and Payment of Honorariums to UCAR Employees: For all practical purposes, IRS regulations prohibit an employer from making a payment defined as a consulting fee to an employee receiving a salary. Therefore, a UCAR employee may not consult for a UCAR laboratory or program and receive a payment defined as a fee.
IRS regulations prohibit UCAR from paying honorariums to its own employees.
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Affiliated Policies and Procedures
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