UAB employees who meet a certain salary threshold, or whose job includes management of state funds in certain capacities, are required to file their annual Statement of Economic Interests form with the Alabama Ethics Commission by April 30.
This year, the commission offers a new online filing option; visit their Web site at www.ethics.alabama.gov to take advantage of it. While you still can choose to print a copy of the form, complete it and return it directly to the Ethics Commission just like in previous years, UAB faculty and staff who must file are encouraged to take advantage of the new quick and cost-effective online option.
When you do, you will receive an e-mail from the Ethics Commission (the e-mail address will contain @ethics.alabama.gov) providing you with a code that confirms your form has been filed. Keep this confirmation code on file in a safe place because you will be asked for your confirmation code when you try to view your Statement of Economic Interests information during future visits to the Ethics Commission site.
Employees who meet the filing criteria are receiving formal notice of this requirement in an e-mail sent to their UAB e-mail address. The letter instructs employees to log on to BlazerNET to download and print the form if they do not choose to file online. Once in BlazerNET (blazernet.uab.edu), employees should click on the Employee Resources tab and click on the link in the Human Resource Management channel.
Once the form is completed, employees should return it to the State of Alabama Ethics
Commission, P.O. Box 302300, Montgomery AL 36130-2300. The filing is mandated by the Code of Alabama, 1975 Section 36-25-14. Summarized, the requirements as they apply to UAB state that:
• Persons whose base rate of pay at any time during calendar year 2008 would have annualized to $50,000 or greater are required to file, even if employment during the year was for a period as short as one day.
• Persons under that salary threshold whose job includes authority for procurement or investments are required to file.
• The Ethics Commission has exempted persons whose pay and benefits come primarily from UAB Hospital from the filing requirement.