Outside Employment

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BACKGROUND

Members of the faculty and staff are permitted to engage in outside employment and consulting under certain conditions.  Permissible circumstances relating to outside employment and consulting are contained in IHL and University policies.

SPECIFIC POLICIES
 

Pursuant to IHL Policy 801.08 OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT, members of the faculty and staff are permitted to engage in outside employment, provided permission is first obtained from the President and, provided further, that the President grants permission to engage in outside employment only after having first determined that such employment will not interfere in any manner with the institutional duties of the individual requesting such permission.  In addition, the policy prohibits University staff and faculty from engaging in a business or profession that would in any manner compete with a similar business or profession over which he or she would have direct supervision, inspection, or purchasing authority within the University or agency, such being a conflict of interest.
 
The University Faculty Handbook Policy 3.14 EXTERNAL EMPLOYMENT POLICY references the policy of the Board of Trustees and confirms that academic staff members may engage in employment outside the University after first obtaining the permission of the University President who must ascertain that the employment will not interfere with the University duties of the person requesting permission.

Retrieval No. 1007 of the University’s Employee Handbook also addresses the issue of outside employment.  For employees who wish to engage in outside employment, the policy requires employees to notify the Department of Human Resources and request an “Application for Permission to Engage in Outside Employment or Practice of Profession”.  

The policy requires the approval of the President and prohibits faculty members from engaging in a business or profession which would result in a conflict of interest as described in the policy. A copy of the completed form is filed and maintained by the Department of Human Resources (see button below). 

Outside Consulting by Staff Employees -Retrieval No. 1007 of the University’s Employee Handbook also addresses the issue of outside consulting by staff employees.  Pursuant to the policy, staff members who engage in consulting activities and who are paid a fee from an outside agency will be required to file the following form:

Application for Permission to Engage in Outside Employment or Practice of Profession.*

*You must be logged in using USM credentials to access the form from the forms page link. 

Timeframe for Submitting the Outside Employment Permission Form

The application must be filed and approved prior to participating in the activity.  

OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT RELATED ABSENCES

All absences from work, during normal working hours, as a result of consulting, will be charged to the 12-month employee’s personal (vacation) leave.

Employees who do not have sufficient accrued personal leave to cover the absence will be required to report as leave-of-absence without pay for the period of time used in consulting.

Staff Employees Teaching Classes-Retrieval No. 1007 of the University’s Employee Handbook also addresses the issue of staff employees teaching classes.  The policy provides that staff employees who teach classes during their normal working hours and who receive additional compensation above their normal salary are required to charge such time to personal (vacation) leave.  The policy places the responsibility upon the director to ensure the employee complies with this policy.  In the event that the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave to cover the teaching time, the employee must report the time taken as leave without pay.