A State official must recuse himself or herself from a matter if he or she has:

1. Any financial interest, direct or indirect, that is incompatible with the discharge of the State official's public duties; or
2. Any personal interest, direct or indirect, that is incompatible with the discharge of the State official's public duties.

Specific information concerning this topic is available on the State of New Jersey State Ethics Commission.

Pursuant the New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law, N.J.S.A. 52:13D-12, et seq. (NJCOIL), each Rowan University employee is required to avoid conflicts of interest in the performance of their official duties. The New Jersey Legislature, by passage of NJCOIL, has provided standards for employee conduct as well as the means for regulatory oversight and enforcement of these standards for all State employees, including employees of Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine (Rowan-Virtua SOM). Specifically the State Ethics Commission (SEC) is charged with the promulgation and enforcement of rules and regulations, and a Uniform Ethics Code, which is applicable to all State employees. NJCOIL also provides that each State agency, including the state's public universities and colleges, shall adopt a code of ethics, which shall be a supplement to the Uniform Ethics Code.

Each year, the State of New Jersey publishes their Ethics Newsletter, which provides State of New Jersey employees updated Ethics standards and cases.

The Scholarly Capacity Rule became in effect on November 19, 2007, in recognition of the unique nature of the academic setting and the difficulty inherent in defining official duties for faculty and researchers at NJ State Colleges and Universities. The SEC issued a mandate that each University employee review the Scholarly Capacity Impact Statement and Scholarly Capacity Disclosure Form which should be read in conjunction with the Uniform Ethics Code and the Plain Language Guide. Additionally, each University employee is required by the Commission to complete and file an acknowledgement of receipt and certification for these documents.

Each RowanSOM chair and department head is responsible for collecting the signed acknowledgments and forwarding them to: Ray Braeunig, Chief Audit, Compliance and Privacy Officer, 40 East Laurel Road, University Educational Center, Suite 1114, Stratford, NJ 08084 or (856) 566-6136 or braeunrc@rowan.edu.

If you have any questions related to conflicts of interest or employee obligations under the Code, and Guide, allegations or concerns about ethical conduct addressed above, please contact: Ray Braeunig, Chief Audit, Compliance and Privacy Officer, 40 East Laurel Road, University Educational Center, Suite 1114, Stratford, NJ 08084 or (856) 566-6136 or braeunrc@rowan.edu.

Quick links to documents mentioned here:

• State of NJ Uniform Ethics Code 
• Plain Language Guide to New Jersey's Executive Branch Ethics Standards
• State of New Jersey/Rowan University Scholarly Capacity Disclosure Form

Statement on the Impact of the Commission’s Scholarly Capacity Rule on State Ethics Rules and Codes

On November 19, 2007, the N.J. State Ethics Commission promulgated final amendments to its regulations, N.J.A.C. 19:61-6.1, et seq., providing special provisions for State College/University employees acting in a scholarly capacity for their institutions.

These special provisions, however, do not eliminate the usual ethical responsibilities placed on State college/university employees under the Commission’s regulations and Uniform Ethics Code when they are not acting in a scholarly capacity for their institutions.

State college/university employees must still abide by the reporting and documentation requirements under the Commission’s regulations, the State Uniform Ethics Code and any Supplemental Ethics Code issued by their institutions when attending events, accepting benefits or engaging in secondary employment or activities outside their scholarly capacity.

As a matter of first course, employees are urged to contact their college/university ethics liaison officer if they have any questions regarding the application of the above-noted rules and ethics codes.

The Plain Language Guide is available here.

UPDATES to Plain Language Guide

Attendance at Events.   The amendments apply to State officials acting in a “scholarly capacity” as that term is defined at N.J.A.C. 19:61-6.2. The scholarly capacity rules apply to certain activities undertaken by a State official who is employed or appointed by a State college or university.

Outside Employment. A section has been added to the Plain Language Guide to clarify that certain designated State officials including the Governor, the Attorney General, and heads of Executive Branch departments may not accept outside compensation or salary.

Prior Business Relationships.    You are required to recuse yourself on an official matter that involves any private sector individual, association, corporation or other entity that employed or did business with you during the one year prior to your commencement of State service.

Prior Involvement in Matter.  You are required to recuse yourself on an official matter if you had any involvement in that matter, other than on behalf of the State, prior to commencement of your State service.

Certain State Officials – One-Year Ban – Former Agency.  A one-year post-employment ban applies to any head, deputy head or assistant head of any principal department, board, commission or authority, the Superintendent of State Police, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Chief of Management and Operations, Chief of Policy and Communications, Chief Counsel, Director of Communications, Policy Counselor, and any deputy or principal administrative assistant to any of the aforementioned members of the staff of the Office of the Governor.  If you hold one of the enumerated positions, you are not permitted to represent, appear for, or negotiate on behalf of, or agree to represent, appear for, or negotiate on behalf of any person or party other than the State with or before any officer or employee of the State agency in which you served.

Gifts in the Workplace.  A State employee is permitted to give or receive a gift from a co-worker, a supervisor or a subordinate.  The gift should not be excessive or inappropriate for a business environment.  Such gift shall not be reported to the ELO. 

The Scholarly Capacity Rule was created to provide flexibility to faculty[1] of New Jersey’s state colleges and universities. “Scholarly Capacity” means any pedagogical, academic, artistic, educational or scholarly activity performed by you in which you are representing the University or sharing your intellectual property "orally or in writing" to achieve the mission of the University, when Attending an Event.

Examples of such activities include: attending, participating in, or making presentations at colloquia, seminars, conferences, or similar scholarly gatherings. If you have a contract and/or agreement with the sponsor of the event you are attending, you are probably engaging in Outside Activity and you must disclose that activity via an Outside Activities Questionnaire.

When acting in a scholarly capacity, you may accept an honorarium, academic prize or other thing of value if the honorarium, academic prize or other thing of value reflects payment for orally or in writing sharing of your intellectual property. Also, you may accept direct or indirect benefit provided to you when acting in a scholarly capacity. This may include acceptance of reasonable travel and lodging, meals expenses and allowable[2] entertainment expenses.

If you are attending an event in a Scholarly Capacity, you should go to this link and prepare an "Attendance at Events Form".  This generates the associated travel forms and Travel Expense Form). The system notifies your supervisor of the filing. Failure to file the AAE form may delay receipt of reimbursable expenses. A record of your benefits, compensations, etc., for attending an event in a scholarly capacity, is automatically generated for your annual reporting requirements.

You may edit the amounts received prior to submission of the Annual Disclosure Form on July 1^st of each year.  The reporting period ends on June 30^th of each year. The Annual Disclosure Form must be reviewed by your supervisor and the Chief Audit, Compliance & Privacy Officer before submission to the State Ethics Commission (SEC).

[1] The Scholarly Capacity Rule may be applicable to non-faculty employees under certain circumstances.  The University’s ELO must be consulted to make that determination.

[2] Not all entertainment expenses are allowable; only entertainment integral to the event is allowable (eg. Accepting additional lodging to attend a golf outing funded by the sponsor is not allowable.