Consulting and Compensated Outside Activities

Faculty Policy

View UGA official policy on Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and Outside Activities

As required by Board Policy 8.2.18.2, Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and Outside Activities(https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/policy/C224/), the University has updated its internal Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and Outside Activities Policy, effective September 5, 2019.

All full-time employees at UGA must disclose all proposed compensated outside activities at least two weeks in advance by submitting the following Approval Form: CAES Compensated Outside Activities Approval Form (Approval Form).

Each University of Georgia (UGA) employee shall make every reasonable effort to avoid actual or apparent conflicts of interests. An apparent conflict exists when a reasonable person would conclude from the circumstances that the employee’s ability to protect the public interest, or perform public duties, is compromised by a personal, financial, or business interest. An apparent conflict can exist even in the absence of a legal conflict of interest. UGA employees are referred to State Conflict of Interest Statutes O.C.G.A. § 45-10-20 through § 45-10-70. UGA employees have an ongoing responsibility to report and fully disclose any personal, professional, or financial interest, relationship, or activity that has the potential to create an actual or apparent conflict of interest with respect to the employee’s UGA duties through the UGA Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Form (Disclosure Form). If disclosure is required, this form must be filled out at the time of initial hire, at the time the need for a disclosure arises, and annually during the employee’s performance evaluation. It is the responsibility of the employee and the employee’s supervisor to discuss and address any actual or apparent conflict of interest between the employee’s UGA duties and the employee’s outside interests. All colleges, schools, and units must retain a signed copy of the UGA Conflicts of Interest Disclosure Form and any management plan (per Board of Regents records retention guidelines).

Staff Policy

Each UGA employee with a work commitment of 30 or more hours per week (.75 or more FTE)must obtain written approval prior to engaging in compensated outside activities that relate to the employee’s expertise or responsibilities as a UGA employee. Such activities include consulting, teaching, speaking, and participating in business, professional, or service enterprises. Employees at UGA must obtain written approval from the President or the President’s designee utilizing procedures for defining and managing potential and apparent conflicts of interest. •The President has delegated approval authority to the Dean, Department Head, Vice President, Associate Provost, or Director of the employee’s college, school, or unit. For Deans, the President has delegated approval authority to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. •Staff are pre-approved to perform compensated outside activities if all six of the following conditions are met:

(1)the employee’s UGA job has no supervisory responsibilities;

(2)the compensated outside activity is not for a current or prospective UGA vendor the employee interacts with, supervises, or is involved in the selection or evaluation of;

(3)the compensated outside activity occurs outside of the employee’s UGA work hours;

(4)no UGA resources are utilized in the performance of the compensated outside activity;

(5)the employee submits a University of Georgia Staff Notification Form for Pre-Approved Compensated Outside Activities in advance to the employee’s Department Head or Director (with the Notification to be re-submitted annually); and

(6)the compensated outside activity complies with any unit-specific restrictions imposed by the employee’s unit, as approved in writing by Human Resources.

If all six of these conditions are met, then pursuant to this Policy, the employee has written approval to engage in the compensated outside activity. •An employee is not required to obtain written approval nor provide any type of notification prior to engaging in compensated outside activities that do not relate to the employee’s expertise or responsibility as a UGA employee.

Staff who do NOT meet the requirements for pre-approval of compensated outside activities should use the following Approval Form: CAES Compensated Outside Activities Approval Form (Approval Form).