Understanding Conflict of Interest regulations is critical for ensuring the appropriateness and legality of a contract.
Standard California state agency conflict of interest and penalty provisions for procurement apply to the University of California, including Article 4 of Chapter 2.5 of Part 2, Sections 10515 through 10524, of the California Public Contract Code.
The statute primarily impacts the following practices of business and revenue contracts:
- Hiring current university employees to provide services or goods to UC under agreements as contractors.
- Hiring former UC employees as contractors to perform work related to contracts that were planned, negotiated, executed or involving policy created by the employee before the employee's separation from UC.
The statute prohibits most current university employees* from contracting as individuals with any university department to provide goods or services as a contractor. In addition, the statute prohibits employees from engaging in any employment, activity or enterprise from which the employee receives compensation, or in which the employee has a financial interest, and which is sponsored or funded, in whole or in part, through a contract with the university.
* UC employees with teaching or research responsibilities, or those who are students, may be exempted from this provision of the statute but still are subject to university guidelines for employee-vendors.
The statute contains two restrictions on contracting with former employees
- For two years from the date of separation, a former university employee cannot enter into a contract to perform work related to contracts that were planned, negotiated or executed by that employee.
- For one year from the date of separation, a former university employee cannot enter into a contract to perform work on a contract if he or she was employed by that department in a policy-making position in the same general subject area as that contract.
To Report a Possible Conflict of Interest
If there is a proposed purchase of goods or services involving a potential conflict of interest, please complete this form and send it to businesscontracts@ucmerced.edu
