Guidelines for Grant and Contract Management
210. Anti-Kickback Act of 1986
On May 4, 1987, Joyce Freedman, Assistant Vice President for Research Administration, issued a memorandum notifying all academic deans and directors and divisional/departmental administrators of the Anti-Kickback Act of 1986. This memorandum is reprinted below.
The memorandum states that it is the opinion of the University's Legal Counsel that the University's conflict of interest policies for academic and nonacademic staff generally cover the requirements of this Act. Those policies make improper the acceptance of money or things of value from outside organizations or individuals in return for obtaining orders or contracts or favorable treatment from the University, and would apply whether or not the source of funding was a federal contract or subcontract. Both conflict of interest policies appear in the University's Guidelines for Grant and Contract Management . See "Outside Professional and Commercial Interests of Faculty" (Guideline 205) and "Nonacademic Conflict of Interest" (Guideline 206).
If any person is aware of an action by another which might be considered a violation of the Anti-Kickback Law, he/she should report it to a responsible University official, such as a department chair, divisional dean, or vice president of a University operating unit. - January 1990
On November 7, 1986, the federal government passed the "Anti-Kickback Act of 1986." This Act requires that an organization which enters into contracts with the federal government have in place procedures to guard against the possibility of kickbacks in connnection with those contracts. The term "kickback" is defined to mean any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, thing of value, or compensation of any kind which is provided, directly or indirectly, to a contractor, contractor's employee, subcontractor or subcontractor's employee for the purpose of improperly obtaining or rewarding favorable treatment in connection with a contract.
On the advice of the Office of Legal Counsel, I am writing to inform you of the new regulation and to ask that those of you with federal contracts be aware of the implications of this new Act and advise your staff about it. It is the opinion of our Legal Counsel that the University's Conflict of Interest policies for academic and nonacademic staff generally cover the requirements of the Act. If any person is aware of any action by another that might be considered a violation of this Anti-Kickback Law, we ask that he/she report it to a responsible University official.
