White Guide and Orange Guide Formatting Project - Pfizer

Orange Guide – Chapter 17: State Laws: HCP and State Employee Restrictions
Medicaid P&T Committee members;
State prisons; and
State rural health clinics.
How the Law Impacts Pfizer Colleague Activities
Louisiana public servants cannot be engaged as promotional speakers for Pfizer.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics has stated, however, that a public employee can serve as a consultant
(e.g., at a marketing advisory board) as long as the consultant services are related to his or her
academic discipline or area of expertise and prior approval has been granted. For example, at LSU, the
LSU chief administrative officer would need to approve such a consultancy. Further, if a public servant
is involved in research with Pfizer, he or she can in most circumstances receive reimbursement for
travel expenses for a Pfizer-sponsored clinical trial. Lastly, the Code of Governmental Ethics and Board
of Ethics’ rulings do not prohibit a public servant from speaking at a conference where Pfizer has
provided an independent educational grant since Pfizer does not control the selection of the speaker or
the content of the presentation, and the expenses at such an event would be paid by the conference
organizer directly.
Helpful Point
If you are not sure whether a potential speaker is a Louisiana public servant, you must confirm their
status prior to engaging the person as a speaker. If the person receives regular compensation
directly from one of the institutions above, they are probably a “public servant” and would be
prohibited from receiving compensation from Pfizer for speaking.
The cap on meal expenditures at any program where Pfizer is providing a meal and where there is at
least one public servant present is $50. The law applies to any event where Pfizer is providing food or
drink, and where a public servant is present, including speaker programs, advisory board meetings and
speaker training meetings. It would not, however, apply to an event funded through an independent
educational grant, where Pfizer provides financial support for the event and the grant recipient provides
the meal.
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