The primary responsibility of university employees is the accomplishment of the duties and responsibilities assigned to their position at the university. External consulting, outside employment or other activities that interfere with those duties and responsibilities should not be accepted. At the same time, the university recognizes the benefits of employees’ participation in activities of a consultative or advisory capacity with governmental agencies, private industry or other institutions that are not in conflict with the proper discharge of their duties and responsibilities in the public interest. In keeping with the university’s mission to serve its stakeholders, the university believes these activities improve the performance of an employee by virtue of his or her continuing contact with issues/problems in the nonacademic world and serve to promote the university.
Employees of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (“the university”) may not:
For further explanation and guidance for each of the situations above, refer to the Conflicts of Interest Guidelines of this policy or contact the Office of Institutional Compliance. Additional information can also be found in the Standards of Conduct Guide.
Employees should report any suspected wrongdoing to their immediate supervisor or to the Office of Institutional Compliance. Employees may also anonymously report suspected violations to the toll-free Compliance Hotline at 1-888-472-9868. In accordance with HOOP Policy 2.17.1 Protection from Retaliation, retaliation for a good-faith report of suspected wrongdoing will not be tolerated. Detailed information on reporting possible violations may be found in the UTHSC-H Standards of Conduct Guide.
Appropriated money may not be used to compensate an employee who violates the standards contained in this policy. Failure to comply is grounds for disciplinary action, including termination of employment. Additionally, civil and criminal penalties may apply under certain circumstances.
This policy applies to all university employees.
This policy does not include Research Conflicts of Interest. Refer to HOOP Policy 23.10 Research Conflicts of Interest.
For questions regarding this policy, contact the Office of Institutional Compliance.
Employees are required to report participation in and income earned from outside activities when requested through the annual financial disclosure process. Additional activity reporting may be required by individual schools or units at the university. The report shall be in the form provided through the Office of Institutional Compliance. Anyone to whom these principles apply who fails to provide the report, upon being notified of such failure and refusing to remedy such failure, is subject to disciplinary action. Failure to provide the required disclosure and to abide by the principles herein places the university at considerable risk, and therefore may constitute good cause shown for termination. It is incumbent upon all faculty and staff members to bring to the attention of their immediate supervisor, within 30 days of their creation, those circumstances that arise during the course of the fiscal year that alter the existing disclosure report of that individual. The 30 day requirement does not apply to consulting agreements or other relationships where a formal contract is required, which are to be reported prior to execution of the contract.
The Office of Institutional Compliance shall maintain a Conflicts of Interest Committee (COIC), established by the Executive Compliance Committee, to review the financial disclosures from all employees. The Office of Institutional Compliance shall provide the COIC with such summaries, reports or disclosure statements as it may require. The COIC is responsible for reviewing all conflict of interest cases involving activities, whether reported on the annual and periodic disclosures or otherwise, that are in conflict with employees’ proper discharge of their duties and responsibilities in the public interest. The COIC will conduct a thorough review of each case and will either approve or deny the proposed activity and make recommendations to faculty and staff members.
Any instance of potential conflict of interest or commitment, or oversight of any such instance, which does not comport to the substantive guiding principles herein, and which is not voluntarily resolved following written advice from the COIC to the faculty or staff member within 90 days, shall be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer for a recommendation to the President concerning either elimination or management of the conflict. The President shall in such instance communicate in writing to the COIC and the person involved a directive for the elimination or management of such conflict. The involved person shall provide a written report acknowledging compliance with the directive to the COIC.
Pre-existing relationships that were approved and/or allowed under the prior policy, but which are not in full compliance with the principles herein, will be reviewed and considered on a case-by-case basis.
A. Prior Approval Required
Any outside activities, including self-employment, consulting or employment by another entity, whether compensated or not, must first be approved by the employee’s dean/administrative equivalent or designee. All requests must be approved in writing in advance. The request will describe the type of work, the hours to be worked, and whether or not the service will be compensated. The request must indicate that the work will not conflict with the individual's regular employment at the university. The Request for Approval of Participation in Outside Employment Activities template may be used for this purpose. Individual immediate supervisors have the right to limit an employee’s outside activities if they conflict with the employee’s ability to perform the obligations of his or her university responsibilities.
B. Faculty Outside Activities
Faculty members may devote up to 30 working days in any fiscal year to attending/speaking at conferences, symposia, seminars, or to outside consultative or advisory activities with governmental agencies, private industry, or other institutions, whether compensated or not, as long as these activities are closely related to the university mission and beneficial to the university and are not in conflict with the proper discharge of their duties and responsibilities in the public interest. This 30 working day time threshold does not apply to or affect service to activities conducted for university-related governmental, university or non-profit boards, study sections, committees, and projects or required attendance for service in the United States armed forces (See HOOP Policy 2.65 Military Leave). Further guidance is provided in the Conflict of Interest and Outside Activities Decision Matrix for Faculty Activities. Additional days of outside consultative or advisory activities may be granted with appropriate supervisory approval and/or approval of the respective school’s dean or dean’s designee or the President or the President’s designee.
C. Elective Offices
Employees who wish to engage in political activity that will interfere with the performance of their duties and responsibilities should voluntarily terminate employment. Being a candidate for an elective office, holding an elective public office, or directing the political campaign of a candidate for an elective public office are examples of political activities which may interfere with the performance of an employee’s duties. If the President finds the employee’s political activities interfere with the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities or finds the employee’s political activities do not comply with the requirements of this policy, the employee shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including termination.
D. Use of University Name and Resources
Employees who perform work in a private capacity must make it clear to those who employ him or her that the work is unofficial and that the name of the U.T. System or the university is not in any way connected with the employees’ name, except when used to identify the employee as the author of work related to the employee’s academic or research area. Employees may not use university stationery or give any university building or department as a business address in connection with any work performed in a private capacity.
Additionally, employees may not accept personal compensation from private persons or corporations for tests, assays, chemical analyses, bacteriological examinations or other such work of a routine character that involves using property owned by the university, The University of Texas System, or any other University of Texas component institution unless advance permission is obtained from the President and provision has been made for compensation to the university, The University of Texas System, or to the appropriate University of Texas component institution.
E. Use of Professional Opinions for Advertising
Employees who give professional opinions must protect the university and The University of Texas System against the use of such opinions for advertising purposes. If the employee does work in a private capacity, the employee must make it clear to those who employ him or her that the work is unofficial and that the name of the university and The University of Texas System is not in any way to be connected with the employee’s name, except when used to identify the employee as the author of work related to the employee’s academic or research area.
Human Resources shall distribute this policy and its appendices to each new employee not later than the third business day after the date the person begins employment.
Updated 7/01; 12/07; 02/08; 02/09