prohibited. Faculty and staff shall not make use of property, personnel, or students of UNA for the purpose of obtaining personal compensation from sources external to UNA or use the University’s name in a way that would suggest that a personal activity or endeavor is sponsored or endorsed by UNA. (See Alabama Code § 36-25-5). Ala. Code §36-25-11 prevents any public official or public employee, or members of their households, or any businesses associated with these people from entering into a contract that will be paid for using government funds unless the contract has been awarded through a competitive bid process. The contract must then be filed with the Ethics Commission within ten (10) days of its execution. 4. More Information on Amendments to Ethics Act & Gifts to Public Employees Employees are prohibited from soliciting or accepting any of the following “things of value” for the purpose of influencing official action: any gift, benefit, favor, service, gratuity, tickets or passes to an entertainment, social or sporting event, unsecured loan, other than those loans and forbearances made in the ordinary course of business, reward, promise of future employment, or honoraria or other item of monetary value. Furthermore, family members of public employees may not receive anything of value for the purpose of influencing official action. Excluded from the definition of “thing of value” (and thus are permitted to be received by employees) are: a. Greeting cards, and other items and services with little intrinsic value which are intrinsic value which are intended solely for presentation, such as plaques, certificates, and trophies, promotion items commonly distributed to the general public, and items or services of de minimum value. b. Loans from banks ad and other financial institutions on terms generally available to the public c. Opportunities and benefits, including favorable rates and commercial discounts, available to the public or to a class consisting of all government employees d. Rewards and prizes given to competitors in contests or events, including random drawings, which are open to the public. e. Anything for which the recipient pays full value. f. Hospitality, meals, and other food and beverages provided to a public official or public employee or the spouse of the public official or employee, as an integral part of an educational function, economic development function, work session, or widely attended events g. Meals and other food and beverages provided to the public employee not to exceed $50 per meal with a limit of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per year.
Additional information about gifts can be found here: http://ethics.alabama.gov/law.aspx. Convictions of intentional violations of Ethics Laws are class B felonies (2-20 years in prison & fines up to $30,000).
5. Ethics Law Pertaining to UNA Employees Selling Textbooks Violations of the Ethics Act occur if a UNA employee sells an instructor edition or complimentary copy of a textbook or any related materials (study guides, test banks, supplementary CDs, etc.) to anyone, including a student, bookstore or online textbook reseller, unless the proceeds of that sale are retained by the University. For example, sale proceeds can be deposited into a departmental account to purchase office supplies or institutional purposes. Employees selling complimentary course materials are responsible for providing documentation showing that they have not personally profited.
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