I. Scope
This policy applies to all officers and employees of George Mason University (the “University”), including part-time employees, non-student wage employees, all faculty including adjunct faculty, and students on the University payroll. Commonwealth of Virginia ethics and conflict of interest laws apply to all employees. Federal law and policy imposes additional requirements on employees who receive funding from the federal government.
II. Policy Statement
A Conflict of Interest is a situation in which a person’s own Personal Interests may compromise or bias, or appear to compromise, their professional judgement and objectivity when making decisions on behalf of the University, or when conducting externally-funded (“sponsored”) research.
This policy summarizes regulatory disclosure requirements, the mechanisms in place to comply with those requirements, and other regulated conflict of interest prohibitions and requirements.
Required disclosures must be made in advance of engaging in the activity subject to the law, and advanced management actions put in place to eliminate or mitigate actual or potential conflicts.
All benefited employees must complete Mason’s online Ethics Training, which addresses conflicts of interest, upon hire and every two years thereafter. The training is available through MasonLEAPS.
Employees should feel free to contact the Office of Institutional Compliance ([email protected]) with questions about this policy.
III. Definitions
The following definitions apply generally in this policy. Additional terms applicable only to specific sections are defined within those sections.
A. Immediate Family Member means (a) a spouse and (b) any person who resides in the same household as the officer or employee and who is a dependent of the officer or employee.
B. Immediate Family in the context of a procurement transaction means a spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and any other person living in the same household as the employee.
C. Official Responsibility for a Procurement Transaction means having any degree of administrative or operating authority to initiate, approve, disapprove, or affect a procurement transaction for Mason or any resulting claim.
D. Personal Interest means a financial benefit or liability of an employee, or Immediate Family Member, if such benefit or liability is included in one of the categories outlined below:
- Ownership interest in a business which exceeds three percent (3%) of the equity of the business;
- Annual income that exceeds, or may reasonably be anticipated to exceed, $5,000 from ownership in property or in a business;
- Salary or benefits paid by a business or governmental agency which exceeds, or may reasonably be anticipated to exceed, $5,000 annually;
- Ownership of real or personal property which exceeds $5,000;
- Liability incurred or assumed on behalf of a business, which exceeds three percent (3%) of the asset value of the business; or
- An option for ownership of a business or real or personal property if the ownership interest will consist of clause (a) or (d) above.
E. Related by Family or Marriage means a person who is an employee’s spouse, partner, parent, child (including step-children), sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or individual for whom an employee has been assigned legal responsibility or guardianship.
IV. Regulatory Disclosure Requirements
A. Familial Relationships (“Dual Employment” of Immediate Family Members)
Immediate Family Members may work for Mason (i.e., “dual employment”) if the Immediate Family Members are not directly exercising control over the employment or employment activities of one another, and if Mason determines that the dual employment is in the best interests of the university.
In this context, “exercising control over the employment or employment activities” includes, but is not limited to, making decisions regarding initial appointment, retention, promotion, tenure, salary, leave of absence, and evaluation.
Immediate Family Members’ dual employment must be disclosed through the Mason Disclosure System as soon as the relationship arises.
B. Ownership Interests of Employee or Immediate Family Member
Employees (or their Immediate Family Members) who have an ownership interest in a company seeking to do business with Mason (or whose Immediate Family Members have such an interest), must disclose that interest.
Employees must disclose their interests and those of their Immediate Family Members through the Mason Disclosure System in advance of the company’s seeking to do business with Mason.
C. Employee Involvement in Contracts, Procurement/Purchasing, and Transactions
- Contracts
Employees are prohibited from having a personal interest in a contract with the University other than the employee’s own contract of employment. Employees also are prohibited from having a personal interest in a contract with another state agency unless the contract is awarded through a competitive process as defined by the Virginia Public Procurement Act.
A “personal interest in a contract” means being a party to a contract or having a Personal Interest in the firm, corporation, partnership, or other business entity which is a party to the contract.
A “contract” means any agreement to which a governmental agency is a party, or any agreement on behalf of a governmental agency that involves the payment of money appropriated by the General Assembly or a political subdivision, whether or not such agreement is executed in the name of the Commonwealth, or some political subdivision thereof. Contract in this context includes a subcontract only when the contract of which it is a part is with the officer’s or employee’s own governmental agency.
Employees must disclose their personal interests in contracts and those of their Immediate Family Members through the Mason Disclosure System in advance of seeking do business with Mason or other state agency.
2. Procurements/Purchasing
An employee who has Official Responsibility for a Procurement Transaction is prohibited from participating in that procurement when the employee knows that:
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- He or she is also employed by the bidder, offeror, or contractor.
- Any Immediate Family
- Holds a position with the bidder, offeror, or contractor; OR
- Is employed by the bidder, offeror, or contractor in a capacity involving substantial participation in the procurement transaction; OR
- Owns or controls an interest exceeding three percent (3%) of the business of the bidder, offeror, or contractor; OR
- Has a pecuniary interest (total compensation to include any and all direct compensation and/or benefits) with a value of over $5,000 per year in the bidder, offeror, or contractor; OR
- Is negotiating, or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment with the bidder, offeror, or contractor.
Employees with Official Responsibility for a Procurement Transaction and who have any of the interests or affiliations described above must disclose those interests and affiliations through the Mason Disclosure System in advance of participating in the procurement. In addition, as an employee’s pecuniary interest or ownership interest in a non-university entity can change during the contract term, changes in interests of any value or type must be disclosed through the Mason Disclosure System as soon as they are anticipated or occur.
3. Employee Involvement in Other Transactions
Employees must disqualify themselves from representing the university in a university transaction where the employee has a Personal Interest, and must disclose that Personal Interest.
In this context, a “transaction” means any matter considered by the university or one of its subdivisions on which official action is taken or contemplated.
Also, in this context a “personal interest in a transaction” means an employee or her or his Immediate Family Member has a Personal Interest in property or a business or governmental agency, or represents or provides services to any individual or business and such property, business or represented or served individual or business:
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- Is the subject of the transaction; or
- May realize a reasonably foreseeable direct or indirect benefit or detriment as a result of the action of the agency considering the transaction.
An employee who has a personal interest in a transaction as described above shall disqualify him or herself from representing the University in the transaction, may not vote or represent the university in the transaction, and must disclose this fact through the Mason Disclosure System in advance of the transaction.
D. Externally-Funded Research
- Scope
This Section applies to all Investigators (defined below.) Public Health Service (PHS)-funded research, and research funded by other organizations that have adopted PHS conflict of interest standards, is subject to additional requirements as described in the PHS Appendix. In addition, disclosures regarding outside commitments and interests are required by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and addressed in University Policy 4021: Conflict of Commitment .
Investigators proposing PHS funding also must complete training on the PHS conflict of interest requirements every four years. PHS training is separate from required University Ethics Training.
The Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) is responsible for the overall administration of this section of the policy, including appointing the university’s Conflict of Interest Committee, receiving and reviewing disclosures, coordinating implementation of management plans, and maintaining records. The Provost is responsible for review of appeals and disciplinary actions under this Section. The Vice President for Research is the Designated Official for the university.
2. Research-Specific Definitions
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- Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) is a subset of Significant Financial Interest (SFI) that means an SFI that directly and significantly affecting the design, conduct, or reporting of the externally-funded research.
- Institutional Responsibilities mean an Investigator’s professional responsibilities on behalf of the university, and as defined by the university, including but not limited to, activities such as research, research consultation, teaching, professional practice, institutional committee memberships, and service on panels such as Institutional Review Boards and Safety Monitoring Boards and other responsibilities as defined by the university.
- Investigator means the principal investigator (PI), co-investigator, and any other person, regardless of title or position, who is independently responsible for the design, conduct or reporting of externally-funded research. The following positions are automatically considered investigators: all faculty positions (tenure track, term, research, and affiliate) and all postdoctoral research fellows. PIs will be responsible for identifying additional individuals serving as Investigators on proposals. This will be documented by the use of standard language in the proposal assignment or other written communication issued to the PI during the proposal preparation process.
- Manage and Management mean actions taken to address a Financial Conflict of Interest, which can include reducing or eliminating the conflict to ensure, to the extent possible, that the design, conduct, and reporting of research will be free from bias.
- Senior Personnel means the Principal Investigator, Project Director, and any other Investigator identified as Senior/Key Personnel by the university in the proposal, progress report, or any other report submitted to the funding agency by the university.
- Significant Financial Interest (SFI) means a financial interest consisting of one or more of the following interests of the investigator and/or those of the Investigator’s spouse and dependent children that reasonably appears to be related to the investigator’s institutional responsibilities:
- With regard to any publicly traded entity, an SFI exists if the value of any remuneration received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure certification and the value of any equity interest in the entity as of the date of disclosure certification, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000. For purposes of this definition, remuneration includes salary and any payment for services not otherwise identified as salary (e.g., consulting fees, honoraria, paid authorship); equity interest includes any stock, stock option, or other ownership interest, as determined through reference to public prices or other reasonable measures of fair market value;
- With regard to any non-publicly traded entity, an SFI exists if the value of any remuneration received from the entity in the twelve months preceding the disclosure, when aggregated, exceeds $5,000, or when the investigator and/or the investigator’s spouse or dependent children) hold any equity interest (e.g., stock, stock option, or other ownership interest);
- Intellectual property rights and interests (e.g., patents, copyrights), upon receipt of income related to such rights and interests.
3. Disclosures
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- Significant Financial Interests (SFI)
Investigators who apply for any externally-funded research must disclose through the Mason Disclosure System their known SFIs (and those of her or his spouse and/or dependent children) related to their Institutional Responsibilities. As a part of the university’s application for external funds, each Investigator must certify:
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- That he or she has no such interests; or
- That he or she has such interests and has disclosed them through the institution’s disclosure process.
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Certifications and any required disclosures must be provided prior to the university’s submission of an application for external funds. If the application results in the university’s receipt of external funds, each Investigator who participates in the externally-funded research must update his or her certification and any required disclosures annually or within 30 days of a new reportable SFI occurring. During this disclosure, Investigators must update the value of all previously disclosed SFIs.
Investigators are not required to disclose the following:
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- Salary, royalties, or other remuneration paid by the university to the Investigator if the Investigator is currently employed or otherwise appointed by the university, including intellectual property rights assigned to the university and agreements to share in royalties related to such rights;
- Income from investment vehicles, such as mutual funds and retirement accounts, as long as the Investigator does not directly control the investment decisions made in these vehicles;
- Income from seminars, lectures, or teaching engagements sponsored by a federal, state, or local government agency, an institution of higher education as defined at 20 U.S.C. §1001(a); an academic teaching hospital, a medical center, or a research institute that is affiliated with an institution of higher education; or
- Income from service on advisory committees or review panels for federal, state, or local government agencies, or an institution of higher education as defined at 20 U.S.C. §1001(a), an academic teaching hospital, a medical center, or a research institute that is affiliated with an institution of higher education.
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V. Additional Commonwealth and University Restrictions and Requirements
A. Disclosure of Economic Interests by Designated Employees
As a condition of employment, designated university employees must file an annual, online Statement of Economic Interest (SOEI) disclosure directly with the Commonwealth. Designated filers must complete a disclosure orientation course initially and every other year thereafter. The university will notify designated employees of the required disclosure and orientation course.
B. Acceptance of Gifts
Employees are prohibited from soliciting or accepting money or anything of value:
- For performing official duties (salary and remuneration for actual expenses excepted);
- That might reasonably tend to influence the discharge of official duties; or
- For obtaining employment, an appointment, a promotion, a privilege, or a contract with the university.
An employee of the university shall not accept:
- A business or professional opportunity for financial benefit, if the employee knows or should know that the opportunity is offered to influence the performance of official duties; or
- A business or personal trip paid for by a bidder, offeror, or contractor, for any reason whatsoever, without first obtaining written approval from the appropriate university official.
An employee with authority to conduct or influence the buying of goods or services for the university must not solicit or accept any gift, payment, loan or anything else, other than miscellaneous items bearing advertising, (such as rulers, note pads, etc.) from a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor. This rule does not prohibit employees from buying goods or services, or obtaining loans, for their personal use where they pay equal consideration for them; nor does it prohibit employees from accepting meals or beverages from bidders, offerors, or contractors when offered to a large group of people at a trade show, exhibit, or other professional meeting.
C. Use of Confidential Information and Appropriating University Opportunities
Employees are prohibited from using confidential information not available to the public and acquired through a university position for their own or another’s economic or personal benefit, or to the potential detriment of the university.
Similarly, employees are prohibited from taking advantage of university opportunities for their own or another’s economic or personal benefit that otherwise would not be available to the individual.
D. Faculty Involvement of Students in Faculty-Owned or Managed Companies
Faculty involvement of students in faculty-owned or managed companies can lead to potential problems. Faculty proposing any such arrangements must thoroughly describe the arrangement in a specific Management plan that is signed by the student and the faculty member, and that is reviewed and approved in advance by the faculty member’s Dean.
VI. Compliance
A. Penalties and Remedies- Code of Virginia
The university expects its employees to comply fully and promptly with this policy. Breaches of the disclosure process, including (a) failures to comply with such process, whether by virtue of an employee’s refusal to respond or by her or his responding with incomplete or knowingly inaccurate information, (b) failures to remedy conflicts, and (c) failures to comply with a prescribed Management plan, will be forwarded to the appropriate university unit for investigation and appropriate action, up to and including termination of employment. Some violations also may carry criminal penalties in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
B. Penalties and Remedies – Externally-Funded Research
The consequences for violations of externally-funded research requirements per this policy will be commensurate with the severity and frequency of the offense, and may include termination of employment.
VII. Forms
Outside Employment Request and Approval Form
VIII. Dates:
A. Effective Date:
This policy will become effective upon the date of approval by the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and the Provost and Executive Vice President.
B. Date of Most Recent Review:
August 16, 2023
IX. Timetable for Review
This policy, and any related procedures, shall be reviewed every three years or more frequently as needed.
X. Signatures
Approved:
_/S______________________
Deb Dickenson
Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration
_/S_______________________
Kenneth D. Walsh, PhD
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President
Originally approved: July 28, 2005
Revision Approved: 10/02/09
Revision Approved: 2/22/2017
Revised: 3/08/2018
Revised: 5/03/2021
Revision Approved: 08/16/23
[1] See Procedures for exceptions.
Page last updated: October 13, 2023