Chapter 01. Exception to Outside Employment Prohibition
Regulation .01 Scope.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Except as provided in §B of this regulation, this chapter applies to all officials and employees.
B.
This chapter does not apply to a member of the General Assembly or a State official in the Judicial Branch.
Regulation .02 Prohibition Against Outside Employment.LinkCopy Citation
Except as provided in Regulation .03 of this chapter, an official or employee may not:
A.
Be employed by an entity subject to the authority of:
(1)
The official or employee; or
(2)
The governmental unit with which the official or employee is affiliated;
B.
Be employed by an entity which is negotiating or has entered a contract with the governmental unit with which the official or employee is affiliated; or
C.
Hold any other employment relationship that would impair the impartiality or independence of judgment of the official or employee.
Regulation .03 Exceptions.LinkCopy Citation
Subject to Regulation .04 of this chapter, the Commission may grant an official or employee an exception to Regulation .02 of this chapter for specific outside employment if:
A.
The employee's or official's State duties do not significantly impact on the outside employer or a contract or proposed contract between the outside employer and the official’s or employee’s governmental unit;
B.
The employee or official is not directly supervised by a person who has duties that significantly impact on the outside employer or the contract or proposed contract;
C.
The official or employee does not supervise a person who has duties that significantly impact on the outside employer or the contract or proposed contract;
D.
The employee or official is not affiliated with the specific unit within the employee’s or official’s governmental unit that exercises authority over the outside employer or is involved in contracts with the outside employer;
E.
The employee or official has complied with relevant other sections of the Ethics Law relating to the matters involved;
F.
The employee's or official's outside employment involves no substantive, non-ministerial duties significantly relating to the official’s or employee’s governmental unit’s authority over the outside employer;
G.
The employee's or official's outside employment does not involve negotiating or carrying out a contract involving the outside employer and the official’s or employee’s governmental unit, other than contracts involving broad reimbursement payments that are based on a generally applicable standard and that do not involve substantial negotiation or discretion;
H.
The employee's or official's private compensation is not directly funded by the State contract or contracts; and
I.
The Commission determines that the employee's or official's specific employment circumstances do not otherwise raise a conflict of interest or appearance of conflict as contemplated by General Provisions Article, §§5-102 and 5-502, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Regulation .04 Application of Exceptions.LinkCopy Citation
A.
The Commission may grant an exception under Regulation .03 of this chapter to an individual who does not meet the criteria of Regulation .03B, C, D, or F of this chapter for specific outside employment if:
(1)
The head of the employee’s or official’s governmental unit advises the Commission that the head of the governmental unit does not believe that the secondary employment would present a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest that would impair the credibility of the governmental unit; and
(2)
The Commission concurs in the assessment of the head of the official’s or employee’s governmental unit provided under §A(1) of this regulation.
B.
The Commission may grant an exception under Regulation .03 of this chapter to an individual who does not meet the criteria of Regulation .03H of this chapter if:
(1)
The official’s or employee’s private compensation is funded by contracts involving broad reimbursement payments that are based on a generally applicable standard and that do not involve substantial agency negotiation or discretion;
(2)
The head of the official’s or employee’s agency advises the Commission that the head of the agency does not believe that the secondary employment would present a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest that would impair the credibility of the agency; and
(3)
The Commission concurs in the assessment of the head of the official’s or employee’s agency provided under §B(2) of this regulation.
C.
The Commission may grant an exception under Regulation .03 of this chapter to an employee who does not meet the criteria of Regulation .03F, G, or H of this chapter if:
(1)
The employee has limited duties that are defined with sufficient precision regarding time, mode, and occasion that the employee may not exercise substantial discretion or judgment;
(2)
The head of the employee’s governmental unit advises the Commission that the head of the governmental unit:
(a)
Believes that the service or product to be supplied by the employee would be otherwise unavailable to the State; and
(b)
Does not believe that the secondary employment would present a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict that would impair the credibility of the agency; and
(3)
The Commission concurs in the assessment of the head of the employee’s governmental unit provided under §C(2) of this regulation.
Chapter annotations
Authority: General Provisions Article, §§5-206 and 5-502, Annotated Code of Maryland
History: Effective date: August 2, 1982 (9:15 Md. R. 1517)
History: Regulation .01 amended effective January 13, 1986 (13:1 Md. R. 19); October 15, 2012 (39:20 Md. R. 1308)
History: Regulation .02 amended effective October 15, 2012 (39:20 Md. R. 1308)
History: Regulation .03 amended effective December 20, 1982 (9:25 Md. R. 2486); October 15, 2012 (39:20 Md. R. 1308)
History: Regulation .04 adopted effective December 20, 1982 (9:25 Md. R. 2486)
History: Regulation .04 amended effective November 5, 1984 (11:22 Md. R. 1900); January 13, 1986 (13:1 Md. R. 19); October 15, 2012 (39:20 Md. R. 1308)