The UNC Policy Manual
300.5.2
Adopted 02/12/93
Amended 03/07/08
Amended 04/11/14
Technical Corrections 05/21/24
Candidacy for
Elective Office; Officeholding (Elective and Appointive Public Office)
The Board of
Governors adopts the following policy for University
employees concerning candidacy for and holding public office (elective and
appointive).
I. This
policy applies to all University employees who are exempt from the State Human Resources
Act (Chapter 126 of the General Statutes) pursuant to G.S. 126-5(c1).[1]
A. Employee Responsibilities. An employee who intends to become a candidate
for election or appointment to any public office, or to hold any public office,
is responsible for knowing and complying with the policy set forth herein, in
addition to any other applicable policies, regulations, and guidelines
including, but not limited to, policies and regulations concerning Political
Activities of Employees, Conflict of Interest and Commitment, and External
Professional Activities for Pay.
B. Campus Responsibilities. Each chancellor must assure that employees
understand well in advance both the procedures to be followed in pursuing, as
well as the possible employment implications of their involvement, in political
candidacy and public officeholding. Such
measures shall include: (1) publication of a notice, of the type established by
the president, to be included in documents that prescribe the terms and
conditions of employment for each category of covered University employment,
e.g., faculty handbooks and/or tenure policies, employment manuals for
nonfaculty employees (employees subject to the State Human Resources Act are
not covered by the policy); and (2) distribution in advance of each pending
political season, of reminders of policy requirements to which employees are
subject. This reminder may be
distributed electronically, by paper, or other methods.
C. Definitions. The definitions set forth in subpart I.B.
of Section 300.5.1 of the UNC Policy Manual are incorporated herein by reference. In addition, for purposes of this policy:
1. “Appointive public office” means a public
office filled or obtained by means other than an election.
2. "Compensation
which is more than nominal" means with reference to part-time public
office (other than membership in the General Assembly) actual annual
compensation or expected annual compensation, whichever is greater, in excess of $10,000, excluding direct reimbursements for
expenses incurred by the office holder incident to holding office, whether such
expenses are calculated on a per diem basis or on an actual-expense basis.
3. “Conflict of
interest” means situations in which financial or other personal considerations, circumstances, or
relationships may compromise, may involve the potential for compromising, or
may have the appearance of compromising a employee’s
objectivity in fulfilling their University duties or responsibilities,
including research, service, and teaching activities and administrative
duties.
4. “Conflict of
commitment” relates to an individual's distribution of time and effort between
obligations to University employment and participation
in other activities outside of University employment. A conflict of commitment
occurs when the pursuit of such outside activities involves an inordinate
investment of time or is conducted at a time that interferes with the employee’s
fulfillment of University employment responsibilities.
5. “Elective public
office” means a public office filled or obtained through the results of an
election.
6. “EPS” means Exempt
Professional Staff, an individual who is employed in a position covered by
Section 300.1.1 of the UNC Policy Manual.
7. “Full-time employee”
means an individual who is employed by the University at least three-quarter
(3/4) time, including faculty who are employed on a nine-month per calendar
year basis.
8. “Major public
office” means (a) any public office requiring full-time service, regardless of
the amount of compensation; (b) any public office requiring service on a
part-time basis for which the compensation is more than nominal; and (c)
membership in the North Carolina General Assembly.
9. “Minor public
office” means any public office that is not a major public office.
10. “Part-time employee”
means an individual who is employed but who is not a full- time employee.
11. “Public office" means any national, state, or local
governmental position of public trust and responsibility, whether elective or
appointive, which is created, prescribed, or recognized by constitution,
statute, or ordinance (other than within the University of North Carolina).
12. “Senior academic and
administrative officer (SAAO)” means an individual who is employed in a SAAO position
covered by Section 300.1.1 of the UNC Policy Manual.
II. Minor Public Offices. An employee who assumes, or becomes a
candidate for election to, a minor public office shall be subject to the
requirements of this subpart.
A. No
Presumption of Conflict of Commitment. The candidacy by an employee for election to a minor
public office, or the assumption by an employee of a minor public office,
whether appointive or elective, is presumed not to create a conflict
of commitment with respect to the responsibilities owed by the employee to the
University.
B. Resolution
of Potential Conflicts in Particular Cases.
If the president (with respect to senior academic and administrative
officers (SAAO) and employees of General Administration) or the chancellor
(with respect to other employees of the constituent institution, other than
senior academic and administrative officers) believes that a material conflict
of commitment may exist in a particular case, the president or the chancellor
may direct the employee subject to this subpart to submit a petition in accordance
with subpart III.B. of this policy, and refer the petition to either the Board
of Governors or the appropriate board of trustees for resolution.
C. Prompt
Reporting of Payments Required. An
employee who files as a candidate for or intends to assume or accept
appointment to a public office subject to this subpart must file promptly with
his or her immediate supervisor a written statement setting forth the amount of
any payments to which the holder of such office is entitled as officeholder.
III. Major Public Offices. An employee who assumes, or becomes a
candidate for election to, any major public office shall be subject to the
requirements of this subpart.
A. Conflict
of Commitment Presumed. An employee who
assumes, or announces his or her candidacy
for election to, a major public office, is presumed to create a conflict of
commitment that interferes with the employee’s satisfactory performance of University employment obligations. That presumption is
irrebuttable with respect to any full-time employee who assumes any full-time
public office. Such conflicts shall be addressed as follows:
1. Candidacy for major public office. An employee shall resolve conflicts about
candidacy in advance of becoming a candidate by:
a. Resigning
from University employment; or
b. Submitting
a petition in accordance with subpart III.B., in which the employee (1)
requests and is granted an appropriate unpaid leave of absence from University employment; or (2) rebuts the presumption of
conflict by demonstrating to the satisfaction of the University that there in
fact will be no conflict between campaign activity and University
employment. If the employee by petition is able to establish to the satisfaction of the University
that, contrary to the presumption, such candidacy in fact will not create a
conflict of commitment which interferes with responsibilities owed the
University, the resignation requirement shall not be applicable. If consistent with the presumption the
resignation requirement is found to be applicable, the employee may be granted
a full or partial leave of absence from University
employment, with corresponding suspension of or reduction in pay, to be
coextensive with the period of candidacy.
2. Service
in full-time public office by full-time employees.
a. Full-time
public office. Upon assuming any
public office requiring full-time service, a full-time employee will be deemed
to have resigned his or her University employment, unless prior to assuming
office the full-time employee submits a petition in accordance with subpart
III.B., through which the employee requests and is granted a full leave of
absence, without pay. Such a leave of
absence may be granted at the option of the University if it is deemed
practicable by the University and may not exceed two years in any case.
b. Part-time
public office for which compensation is more than nominal;
membership in the General Assembly. Upon
assuming part-time public office for which the compensation is more than
nominal, or upon assuming office as a member of the General Assembly, a
full-time employee must resign from University employment, unless prior to
assuming office such employee submits a petition in accordance with subpart
III.B., through which the employee: (1) requests and is granted an appropriate
leave of absence; or (2) rebuts the presumption of conflict by demonstrating
that there in fact will be no conflict between officeholding and University
employment. If the employee by petition is able to establish to the satisfaction of the University
that, contrary to the presumption, holding such public office in fact will not
create a conflict of commitment which interferes with responsibilities owed the
University, the resignation requirement shall not be applicable. If consistent with the presumption the
resignation requirement is found to be applicable, the employee may, if deemed
practicable by the University, be granted a full or partial leave of absence
from University employment, with corresponding
suspension of or reduction in pay, applicable to the period for public
service. If a full leave of absence is
deemed necessary and is granted, it shall not exceed two years in any case. If a partial leave of absence is deemed
necessary and is granted, the period of leave shall be at the discretion of the
University.
3. Service in public office by part-time
employees.
a. Full-time public office; membership in
the General Assembly. Upon assuming full-time public office, or upon assuming
office as a member of the General Assembly, a part-time employee must resign
from University employment, unless prior to assuming office such employee
submits a petition in accordance with subpart III.B., through which the
employee: (1) requests and is granted an appropriate leave of absence; or (2)
rebuts the presumption of conflict by demonstrating that there in fact will be
no conflict between officeholding and University employment. If the employee by petition is able to establish to the satisfaction of the University
that, contrary to the presumption, holding such public office in fact will not
create a conflict of commitment which interferes with responsibilities owed the
University, the resignation requirement shall not be applicable. If consistent with the presumption the
resignation requirement is found to be applicable, the employee may, if deemed
practicable by the University, be granted a full or partial leave of absence
from University employment, with corresponding
suspension of or reduction in pay, applicable to the period for public
service. If a full leave of absence is
deemed necessary and is granted, it shall not exceed two years in any case. If a partial leave of absence is deemed
necessary and is granted, the period of leave shall be at the discretion of the
University.
b. Part-time
public office for which compensation is more than nominal. A part-time employee who assumes a part-time
public office for which compensation is more than nominal shall be subject to
the requirements of subpart II of this policy.
B. Petition. Prior to assuming a major public office, or announcing his or her candidacy for election to a
major public office, an employee shall submit a petition using the form/format
prescribed by the president.
1. Submission and resolution
of petitions.
a. Petitions
by senior academic and administrative officers, and by all other employees if
the petition concerns candidacy for or service in the General Assembly, shall
be addressed to and resolved by the Board of Governors,[2] shall
be transmitted through the president, and shall be accompanied by a
recommendation from the appropriate chancellor in any case pertaining to an
institutional employee. If the petition
pertains to a chancellor, it shall be accompanied by a recommendation of the
board of trustees.
b. Petitions
by University employees other than senior academic and administrative officers,
with the exception of petitions concerning candidacy
for the General Assembly, shall be addressed to and resolved by the appropriate
board of trustees and shall be transmitted through the chancellor. With respect
to each such decision rendered by a board of trustees, the chancellor shall
transmit to the Committee on University Governance of the Board of Governors a
report, containing such information as the committee may specify, concerning
the action of the board of trustees.
2. Timely presentation of petitions. An employee shall file a petition well in
advance of the period of employment that would be affected by assuming major
public office or announcing candidacy for major public office. The petition should be filed in accordance
with the timeframes set forth in regulations established by the president,
except where the president (for petitions under III.B.1.a.) or the chancellor
(for petitions under III.B.1.b.) determines that filing the petition in
accordance with the deadline is impracticable and that the University’s
interests will not be materially impaired by a later filing.
a. Candidacy
for public office. With respect to an
employee who intends to announce as a candidate in a race that requires a May
primary contest, any petition submitted to rebut the presumption of conflict of
commitment should ordinarily be filed with the appropriate governing board by
no later than November 1 in the year preceding the May primary election. With respect to an employee who intends to
stand for election in November, any such petition should ordinarily be filed
with the appropriate governing board by no later than July 1 of the election
year.
b. Appointment
to public office. The advance notice
provided to the prospective appointee is frequently not sufficient to permit
compliance with the petition schedule established by the Board. Accordingly, subject to all other board
requirements controlling public officeholding, if circumstances do not permit a
prospective appointee to file a required petition on the schedule otherwise
prescribed for prospective office holders, the petition may be submitted to and
resolved by the officer or agency responsible for the class of employment of
which the petitioner is a member, viz., the president for senior academic and
administrative officers, and the chancellor for faculty and EPS personnel. In such cases, however, it remains University
policy that the prospective appointee will lose University employment if he or
she assumes the appointive office before receiving an affirmative response from
the alternative decision-maker. Thus, even under this expedited procedure, in
some cases the prospective appointee may have to defer acceptance of the
appointment beyond the normal starting date for the public office. When this alternative procedure is used, the
chancellor in each instance shall report the action taken to the Committee on
University Governance through the president.
3. Showings necessary to rebut presumption of conflict. An employee who wishes to campaign for or
assume a major public office and simultaneously maintain his or her full-time
University employment must demonstrate that, contrary to the presumption
established by the policy, no conflict of commitment in fact will occur.
For purposes of this policy it is assumed that each University employee,
including members of the faculty, is obligated to be on duty for a minimum
eight-hour day and forty-hour week. In
conventional employment contexts, entailing a standard eight-hour workday, an
employee will be expected to limit campaign and office-holding activities to
evenings and weekends in order to satisfy employment
obligations. Faculty members, however,
typically follow schedules that vary from day to day and, indeed, from week to
week in accruing their forty or more hours per week of employment
activity. Such variety reflects, among
other factors, their scheduled teaching and counseling hours, the demands of
their research projects, the time dedicated to classroom preparation, the
requirements of institutional service through committee memberships, and study
and travel associated with contributions to the profession, as in visiting
lectureships, professional meetings, and reviews of the work of other scholars
and programs. Thus, there is no
"standard workday" among the professoriate. The need for flexibility in scheduling the
component faculty endeavors of teaching, research, and service is universally
recognized. Yet, for purposes of this
board policy certain shared assumptions must be identified to help quantify
employment obligations.
Unless there is clear demonstration to
the contrary, it will be assumed that the work day for
professors is the conventional one that falls between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5
p.m. However, an individual faculty
member may seek to demonstrate that his or her full-time employment schedule
for a given semester in fact does not or need not conform to the presumed norm
and, accordingly, that times other than evenings and weekends properly would be
available for campaign activity. Thus, a
petition to the governing board in support of efforts to rebut the presumption
of conflict would have to begin with a representation about what basic periods
of time would be devoted to campaigning and why such a proposed schedule would
not conflict with the forty or more hours per week of his or her University job. The
unalterable premise is that the employee must meet the full requirements of
employment while campaigning or serving in office, not that he or she will be
permitted to reduce in any way his or her full-time University service in order to engage in candidacy for or service in public
office. A satisfactory showing therefore
must quantify the distribution of time between employment time and personal
time devoted to candidacy and officeholding, as required in the petition form
prescribed by the president.
C. Conditions Imposed Incident to Permitting Maintenance of
Full-Time Employment. If the governing board determines
that an employee has successfully rebutted the presumption of conflict, the
permission to continue full-time University employment during service in or
candidacy for public office may need to be attended by special conditions. For example, the employee may be required to
maintain a daily log of time devoted to campaign activity, subject to periodic
inspection by the employee's supervisor. By way of further example, in arranging the
division of time between University duties and
campaigning or officeholding, a member of the instructional faculty should not
be permitted to reschedule class meeting times or office hours for counseling
students, if students thereby would be inconvenienced. In summary, there is a need for responsible
academic administrators to monitor closely a faculty member's compliance with
the terms of the understanding reached with the governing board.
D. Leaves
of Absence during Candidacy or Service in Public Office
1. In
general. If a University
employee concludes or a governing board determines that engaging in a
contemplated political campaign or serving in public office will prevent the
employee from meeting full-time employment responsibilities, the employee may
request a leave of absence, either partial or full, with corresponding
reduction in or suspension of pay. The
presentation of petitions in support of a request for such leave must follow
the same schedule as prescribed above for efforts at rebuttal of presumed
conflicts, viz., by November 1 with respect to May primary contests and July 1
for the general election. In fact, if an employee seeks to be excused from the
resignation requirement by rebutting the presumption of conflict, his or her
petition on that subject should be accompanied by a petition for leave, to
address the contingency of a finding by the governing board that the
presumption has not been rebutted. The
president will provide a model petition form to be used by University
employees to describe the nature and extent of leave requested, with
accompanying representations from the chancellor and other responsible
administrators about the feasibility of the proposal, from the institution's
perspective, e.g., whether it would be possible to satisfactorily cover the
duties of the employee while he or she was absent. If an employee seeks a partial leave of
absence, the type of quantification effort described above, with respect to
rebuttal of a presumed conflict, would be necessary. A listing of duties to be performed and duties
not to be performed would be required, which would account for the total
full-time employment responsibilities of the employee; and, derivatively, a
judgment then could be made about what percentage reduction in salary would be
required.
2. Faculty
requests for partial semester leave.
Faculty employment is distinguishable from other types of University employment.
Other types of University employment are not
necessarily keyed to the semester-based provision of educational services to
students. Thus, the absence of such
employees for intervals of several weeks or several months during a semester
might not have the same potentially negative effects on students as would the
comparable absence of faculty members.
(For these other employees, however, a similar consideration would apply
to employment duties which fall routinely at particular times
of the calendar year.)
A faculty member who is assigned a
course to teach for a semester will likely not be permitted to discontinue the
instruction of that course (actual teaching hours and directly related
instructional responsibilities, such as advising enrolled students) part way
through the term by using a substitute teacher.
A faculty member who anticipates
running for an elective office or serving in public office should broach this
issue well in advance of the semester during which such activity will occur and
to seek a full or partial leave for all of that
semester, rather than for just a portion of the semester. Under such an approach, the institution would
have appropriate lead time to assign instructors to the courses in question,
students would know in advance the identity of and could make an advertent
choice about whether to enroll in a course to be taught by a particular
instructor, and there would be no mid-term adjustments confronting students who
did enroll in a course.
IV. Consequences of Failure to Comply with
Required Procedures. This policy is designed to accomplish a timely
resolution of questions about an employee's proposed involvement in activities
that could conflict with University employment
responsibilities. The purpose is to avoid, through advance planning, any
situation in which an employee might neglect his or her duty and thereby
disrupt service to students and other beneficiaries of the University
enterprise, with consequent need for disciplinary action against the culpable
employee. The system established by the
board permits both the employee and the employer to identify potential problems
in advance and to craft reasonable accommodations. Thus, it is essential that the procedures
called for in the policy be observed carefully.
An employee who fails or refuses to observe the procedural requirements
of the policy has violated the terms and conditions of his or her employment
and is subject to disciplinary action. With
the establishment of appropriate measures for providing notice of the policy
requirements, all covered employees will be presumed to know their obligations
under the policy.
A. With
Respect to Officeholding
1. If a
full-time employee is elected or appointed to a full-time public office, his or her University
employment ends automatically ("will be deemed to have resigned")
upon the assumption of that office. The
automatic termination of employment may be avoided only if the employee, prior
to assuming the office, has sought and obtained permission for a leave of
absence, not to exceed two years in duration.
Since the relevant provisions of the policy are self-executing, there is
no occasion for disciplinary action in such a case.
2. If a
University employee (full-time or part-time) is elected to or assumes office as
a member of the General Assembly, or if a full-time employee is elected to or
assumes a part-time office for which compensation is more than nominal, holding
the office is presumed to conflict with the satisfactory performance of University employment obligations, and the employee is
obligated to resign upon assuming that public office. The required resignation may be avoided only
if the employee, prior to assuming the office, follows prescribed procedures
that result either in a finding that in fact there will be no conflict created
by simultaneous officeholding and University employment or, alternatively, in
the approval of a requested leave of absence. If an employee fails to follow
the prescribed procedure or declines to resign after failing to rebut the
presumed conflict or after being denied a leave of absence, disciplinary action
may be brought against him or her for violation of the terms and conditions of
his or her employment.
B. With Respect to Candidacy. Under the terms of the board policy,
if a candidacy for election to public office entails a presumed conflict with University employment, the affected employee is required to
resign when he or she becomes a candidate. Resignation from employment may be avoided
only if the employee, prior to becoming a candidate, follows prescribed
procedures that result either in a finding that in fact there will be no
conflict or, alternatively, in the approval of a requested leave of
absence. If an employee fails to follow
the prescribed procedure or declines to resign after failing to rebut the
presumed conflict or after being denied a leave of absence, disciplinary action
may be brought against the employee for violation of the terms and conditions
of his or her employment.
V. Other Matters
A. Appeals.
With respect to any decision reached by a board of
trustees as prescribed in Section III of
this policy, an employee aggrieved by the
decision may appeal to the Board of Governors only on the
basis of that such decision was contrary to clearly established
controlling law or policy. Any such
appeal shall be addressed to the chancellor for transmission to the president,
who in turn will transmit the appeal to the Board of Governors.
B. Effective Date.
The requirements of this policy shall be
applicable prospectively only, on and after the date of adoption by the Board
of Governors. No change in the
employment status of an employee who was an incumbent in a public office as of
the adoption date of this resolution shall be required under the terms of this
resolution for the balance of the term of office being served on the effective
date of this resolution.
C. Policies
of Constituent Institutions. The board
of trustees of each constituent institution shall adopt policies governing
public officeholding by employees.
Policies adopted or substantively amended by a board of trustees
regarding public officeholding by employees shall be effective upon approval by
the president.
D. Relation to State Laws. The foregoing regulations as adopted by the Board of
Governors are designed to supplement, and do not purport in any way to supplant
or modify, those statutory enactments which may govern or limit the political
activities of employees of the State of North Carolina.
E. Regulations
and Guidelines. These policies shall be implemented and applied in
accordance with such regulations and guidelines as may be adopted from time to
time by the president.
[1]For employees subject to the State Human
Resources Act (SHRA), activities related to public officeholding are governed
by policies adopted by the Office of State Human Resources (OSHR) pursuant to
its authority under Chapter 126 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
[2]Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §
116-11(13), and notwithstanding The Code
or any other Board of Governors policy, the Board of
Governors has delegated certain authorities to the president of the
University. See Policy 200.6, Delegation
of Authority to the President of the University, adopted November 11,
2006.