Outside Employment

Minnesota law does not prohibit state employees from accepting employment outside their state positions. However, such outside employment must be consistent with the Minnesota Code of Ethics for Executive Branch Employees contained in M.S. 43A.38. The Code of Ethics defines the obligations of State Executive Branch Employees in the following areas:

• Acceptance of gifts, favors
• Use of confidential information
• Use of state property
• Conflicts of interest

Since the Code defines obligations of employees, all Minnesota State employees should be aware of the provisions of the Code. Accordingly, the Code of Ethics should be distributed to all current employees and should be provided to all new employees at the time of hire.

The Code outlines circumstances that constitute a conflict of interest for state employees. These circumstances may arise in conjunction with employment outside the college/university. As a result, to avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest in outside employment, the employee must provide immediate written notice to the President (for campus employees) or the Chancellor (for Presidents and Chancellor’s Office employees) regarding the specifics of any employment that may give the perception of a conflict of interest. Colleges/universities should provide notice to all employees outlining their obligation to provide written notice of possible conflicts.