Reporting of Honoraria Received between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014

I write concerning the New York State Law governing honoraria and the requirement to report honoraria received between Monday, Apr. 1, 2013 and Monday, Mar. 31, 2014. If you received honoraria in this period, please complete the appropriate form for non-faculty or faculty,  and either mail it by Tuesday, May 6, 2014 to Kathleen Galvez at the College of Staten Island, 2800 Victory Blvd, IA 210, Staten Island, N.Y. 10314 or email by that date to kathleen.galvez@csi.cuny.edu.

A useful link that discusses honoraria is found at the Website of the General Counsel and Senior Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, Frederick Schaffer. It includes a recent advisory opinion, which contains the following additional explanation.:

HONORARIA: 

All CUNY employees are required to comply with the law and regulations governing the receipt and reporting of honoraria, regardless of their designation as a policymaker. (see Limitations on the Receipt of Honoraria and Reimbursement for Travel Expenses.)

JCOPE generally defines honorarium as “a speaking fee or compensation received from writing an article, or reimbursement for travel expenses not related to official duties.”

CUNY Employees Not Employed in Academic Titles

Non-academic employees of CUNY must seek prior approval in order to accept honoraria and must report the receipt of honoraria to their College’s ethics officer. Two factors to keep in mind:

1. Honoraria cannot be accepted for speaking or writing in an area that is related to the employee’s CUNY duties.

2. Honoraria cannot be received from a disqualified source (generally defined as an entity or individual seeking to do or actually doing business with CUNY, such as vendors, would-be vendors, unions, etc.).

CUNY Faculty: Full Time and Adjunct

CUNY faculty are exempt from the restrictions on the receipt of honoraria. This exemption means:

1. CUNY faculty do not need to seek approval to receive honoraria.

2. CUNY faculty may receive honoraria from a disqualified source.

However, CUNY faculty must still report the receipt of any and all honoraria. The exemption for academic positions does not relieve faculty from the reporting requirement.

JCOPE, while defining honoraria as compensation for work unrelated to an employee’s official duties, nonetheless does not exempt faculty from reporting receipt of all speaking fees, reimbursed travel expenses, or payments received for writing and/or presenting written materials.

If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Galvez at 718.982.2355 or kathleen.galvez@csi.cuny.edu.