Can You Take a Second Job Outside of the Exchange? It Depends on the Situation

First in an occasional series of articles about Exchange ethics policies.

You may be asking yourself, “Can I work a second, part-time job while also employed by the Exchange?”  In general, the answer is yes.  You may seek and hold an outside position, as long as you abide by the federal ethics rules concerning outside employment, the most important being there must not be a conflict of interest with your Exchange job and the outside part-time position.

Let’s take a look at Jill’s situation. One of Jill’s job duties is to test new computers for the Exchange.  She wants to work on the weekends for one of the computer vendors. Can she work for the computer company?  The answer is no, as this would be a conflict of interest. According to the ethics rules on outside employment, associates may not have an outside job/activity that would materially impair their ability to perform official duties. If Jill worked for one of the computer vendors on her personal time, her ability to be neutral and free from any obligations in her Exchange capacity would be called into question.

It’s important to keep in mind that any activity that could potentially affect your duties, affect your judgment with regard to any business decision, or reasonably put the Exchange in an unfavorable position creates a potential conflict of interest.  You must also make sure you do not divulge any Exchange-specific information to any non-governmental entity. Furthermore, you should consider how many hours will be required of you at the outside position. Finally, for outside employment purposes, the Exchange considers your Exchange job as your primary place of employment.

The Exchange requires all employees seeking an outside job to complete an Outside Job Request form and have it approved by their supervisor. This form can be found at http://h2.aafes.com/sites/5/2/gcgrhome/Forms/Forms/AllItems.aspx.  For those who are Financial Disclosure Management (FDM) filers, the Exchange ethics office must also approve of the outside position.  For specific questions related to outside employment, or any ethics questions in general, please email ethics@aafes.com.