Secondary Employment for SPA Employees

The employment responsibilities to the State are primary for any employee working full-time; any other employment in which that person chooses to engage is secondary.  An employee must notify his/her supervisor before engaging in any secondary employment.

The purpose of this policy and procedure is to ensure that an employee's secondary employment does not have an adverse effect on the employee's primary employment and does not create a conflict of interest. 

These provisions for secondary employment apply to all employment not covered by the Dual Employment or Additional Employment policies.

All permanent SPA employees (including probationary, trainee, and time-limited) regularly scheduled to work 30 hours or more per work week.

This policy does not apply to temporary, student, or EPA employees, or SPA permanent employees (including probationary, trainee, and time-limited) regularly scheduled to work less than 30 hours per work week.

Secondary employment shall not be permitted when it would:

1. Create either directly or indirectly a conflict of interest with the employee's primary employment; or
2. Have an impact on, or create any possibility of conflict with, State operations; or
3. Impair in any way the employee's ability to perform all expected duties, or to make decisions and carry out in an objective fashion the responsibilities of the employee's position.
   

Before accepting an offer of secondary employment, an employee must submit a Secondary Employment Notification Form to his/her supervisor.  The supervisor must assess the impact of the secondary employment based on the reasons for denial listed above. 

If no reason for denial exists, the supervisor must sign the Notification Form and follow the procedures in the "Recordkeeping" section below.  

If the supervisor believes a reason for denial might exist, the supervisor must consult with the Employment Classification & Compensation Specialist in the Office of Human Resources who is assigned to work with the department.  If the results of this review support a reason for denial, the supervisor must indicate the reason for the conflict on the Secondary Employment Notification Form, and the employee will then be notified that he/she will not be allowed to pursue the secondary employment offer.

If the supervisor, after consultation with the Employment Classification & Compensation Specialist, suspects that the secondary employment may create a possibility of conflict with State operations but otherwise finds no reason to deny the employment, then the supervisor must forward the Notification Form to the Director of the Office of State Personnel for review.

Non-Discriminatory Practice

The nature of the employee's proposed secondary employment cannot in and of itself prevent an employee from being allowed to pursue the secondary employment.  A supervisor shall not deny an employee's request for secondary employment if it does not meet the definition of reasons for denial listed above.

The possibility of reasonable secondary employment shall not prohibit the selection of an applicant for permanent employment with the University.  Selected candidates for permanent employment must submit a Secondary Employment Notification Form (if applicable) to their new supervisor prior to their first day of work. 

Completed Secondary Employment Notification Forms must be kept in the employee's departmental personnel file.  A copy of each completed form also must be forwarded immediately to the Employment Classification & Compensation Department, Office of Human Resources, CB# 1045, for reporting and placement in the employee's personnel file located in the Office of Human Resources.

Employees must report any changes in secondary employment status as they occur by completing a new Secondary Employment Notification Form and submitting it to their supervisor.

As of January of each year, employees who are continuing secondary employment must submit an updated Secondary Employment Notification Form to their supervisors.

An employee's secondary employment is considered public information and may be disclosed to third parties upon request.

Denial of secondary employment due to conflict of interest

A supervisor, after consultation with the Employment Classification & Compensation Specialist in the Office of Human Resources who is assigned to work with the department, may deny an employee's secondary employment immediately if:

1. The supervisor becomes aware of an employee's secondary employment that had not been reported and there is evidence that the failure to report has been willful; or
2. The supervisor becomes aware that an employee's secondary employment presents a conflict of interest with his/her primary employment or a possible conflict with State operations.

Denial of secondary employment due to performance

If the supervisor believes that the secondary employment has caused the employee's overall work performance to drop below a "good" performance level, the supervisor must first approach the matter with the employee as a performance issue and provide the employee adequate time to demonstrate improved performance. 

If the employee's performance does not improve within a reasonable period of time, and if the supervisor continues to believe that the secondary employment is the cause of these performance problems, the supervisor may, after consultation with the HR Generalist, deny the employee's secondary employment.  The supervisor should allow the employee a reasonable amount of time in which to give notice of termination to the secondary employer.

Failure to Comply

An employee's refusal to end his/her secondary employment as directed by this policy is considered a matter of personal misconduct and may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

If you have questions about this policy, contact the Employment and Staffing Specialist in the Office of Human Resources assigned to work with your department.