Policy on Appointments for Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti

Policy on Appointments for Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti

1.  Purpose

Fermilab is a science driven laboratory, and all employees contribute to the successful outcome of the mission. Some employees’ interests in contributing to the mission continue after retirement, as a voluntary association.  Fermilab allows a nonemployee relationship with distinguished, retired Fermilab staff on an unpaid basis providing access to Fermilab to conduct activities related to knowledge transfer, collaboration and mentoring to enhance staff development, succession planning, depth of program knowledge, and/or advance program performance through collaboration.

2.  Scope

This policy governs all guest appointments for retirees (Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus) and applies both to the retiree and the hosting Division. This policy is not a contract and does not establish an employment relationship nor that of a principal or agent with Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA) or the Department of Energy (DOE). This policy may be terminated or changed by the Laboratory at any time, with or without prior notice.

3.  Applicability

This policy applies to all Fermilab retirees who are invited to engage with the laboratory’s mission through appointment as a Retired Guest or a Scientist Emeritus. 

4.  Effective Date and Date Reviewed/Updated

This policy replaces the Policy on Guest Appointments for Retirees. The effective date of this policy was March 13, 2024, and technical updates were adopted on November 20, 2024.

5.  Policy

a.  Appointment Types: There are two possible appointments for retired employees who wish to conduct activities related to knowledge transfer, collaboration and mentoring to enhance staff development and succession planning, depth of program knowledge, and/or advance program performance through collaboration. The first is a Retired Guest appointment. The second is a Scientist Emeritus appointment, which is available to retired scientific staff only. Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti have a unique non-employee status. Neither this policy nor an appointment as a Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus creates an employment relationship or authorizes the appointee to conduct work on behalf of the Laboratory.

   i. Retired Guest appointments may be granted to retired employees in recognition of service to the Laboratory upon request of an Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) or Senior Director. These appointments are awarded and maintained at the discretion of the Laboratory Director, in consultation with the Chief Research Officer or the Chief Operating Officer. This is not a paid employment appointment. Candidates for Retired Guest appointments typically meet the following expectations:

•   History of contributions to the Laboratory

•   Continuous Laboratory service of at least ten years

•   Laboratory retiree

                                         ii. Scientist Emeritus appointments are bestowed as an honor upon outstanding retired scientific staff. These appointments are awarded and maintained at the discretion of the Laboratory Director. This is not a paid employment appointment. None of the guidelines that apply to other Scientific Appointments apply. Retired employee candidates for a Scientist Emeritus appointment typically meet the following expectations:

•   Meritorious contributions to the Laboratory

•   Continuous Laboratory service of at least ten years in a scientific appointment

•   Laboratory retiree

b.  Eligibility:  Employees who are involuntarily separated for cause from the laboratory are not eligible for Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus status.

c. Responsible Division:  Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti are assigned to a division, the leadership of which is responsible for providing appropriate oversight and ensuring that only permissible activities are undertaken, and that all required training is completed. The ALD or Senior Director shall assign a Supervisor of record to each Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus; the Supervisor documents and ensures that adequate training is completed and monitors the activities of the Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus.

d. Permitted Activities, Facilities Access, and Safety: Safe participation in retiree activities is the utmost priority, and avoiding hazardous activities is required.

i. Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti are not permitted to perform work. As a Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus, the person should not be working on projects they did while they were an employee. Their activities can include mentorship, knowledge transfer, and scientific collaboration to benefit the DOE mission. Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti are not authorized and will not engage in performing any hands-on work (including laboratory and field work), proposal development or writing, performance of any task required to provide a deliverable to DOE or any other sponsor, or any project specific task irrespective of location. Permitted activities can include observation of work in progress; discussion with staff members regarding the staff members’ projects and discoveries; use of books, periodicals and documents for further scientific inquiry and discovery; and attendance at lectures, seminars and other staff gatherings.

ii. Retired Guests and Scientist Emeriti are limited to activities appropriate for, and conducted in, office and control room areas; they may access lab areas, beamline enclosures, experimental areas, and shops for the purpose of observing and/or advising only, unless excluded from those areas by their Supervisor or the Division Safety Officer.

iii. No access is permitted to ODH 1 or 2 areas, high radiation areas, permit-required confined spaces, or controlled access interlocked enclosures.

iv. Access is allowed during Business Hours (6am - 6pm) unless otherwise authorized by an ALD or Senior Director.

v. Not following the limitation on permitted activities and safety requirements communicated upon appointment may result in revocation of the appointment.

vi. A Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus who wants to conduct activities at the laboratory beyond those described above must first transition to a different status that would allow such activities, for example by becoming a faculty member or employee of a university that has a relationship with defined activities and access to Fermilab, an employee of a company doing business with the laboratory, or becoming a contractor with business liability insurance and entering into a subcontract with FRA.

e. Office Space, Equipment, and Research Support: Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti may receive support from the laboratory with regard to office space, computing, and publications. ​Computing equipment can be assigned with a Fermilab staff member assigned as custodian of the equipment.  Access is limited to basic capabilities such as e-mail and internet access. Access to computing resources is subject to review and approval consistent with internal processes. Offices may be assigned consistent with current policy and approval by the Chief Research Officer.  Assignments are subject to override and removal of assignment based on the laboratory’s need for office space and equipment for laboratory employees.

f. Conflict of Interest: Retired Guests and ​Scientists Emeriti are not permitted to engage in work outside of Fermilab that presents an actual or potential conflict of interest to FRA and DOE (as determined and approved by FRA). Additionally, using the FRA, DOE and/or Fermilab names for advertising, raising investment capital, and/or endorsement purposes is prohibited except as may be agreed in writing and in advance as to specific projects. Furthermore, Retired Guests and ​Scientists Emeriti must disclose any affiliations with Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Programs and/or affiliations with country(s) of risk (direct or indirect) which is subject to notification and approval by DOE. Retired Guests and ​Scientists Emeriti may only represent their affiliation with Fermilab during the course of this relationship and approval period and with the appropriate identification of the role.  Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti may not represent themselves as laboratory employees or speak on behalf of the laboratory.

g. Training: Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti are subject to all required training(s) as other non-employees (Users or other Affiliates) as well as all related and applicable policies. Failure to complete required training and/or violation of FRA policy may result in revocation of the appointment.

h. Badge Change: Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti are required to return their employee badges and will be issued a new unique badge indicating their status as a Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus.

i. Intellectual Property and Authorship:  Retired Guests and Scientist Emeritus are required to sign an agreement to not disclose to any person who is not an employee or an authorized non-staff worker at Fermilab during the course of or subsequent to the expiration of the agreement, without the consent of FRA, any proprietary or business sensitive information gained during the term of the agreement, except as may be agreed in advance as to specific projects through an Intellectual Property Agreement. The agreement shall include the following provisions:

i. Whenever any invention or discovery is conceived or first actually reduced to practice by Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus in the course of or under this Agreement, Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus shall disclose to FRA the invention or discovery through the processes and procedures of the Office of Partnerships and Technology Transfer (OPTT) with sufficient detail to identify the inventor(s) and to convey to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains a clear understanding of the nature, purpose, operation, and, to the extent known, the physical, chemical, biological, or electrical characteristics of the invention.

ii. The Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus agrees to assist in every reasonable way to obtain and enforce patents on said invention or discovery in any and all countries, and to execute all documents as may be requested in connection therewith.

iii. The Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus shall maintain laboratory notebooks or equivalent records and any other records that are reasonably necessary to document the conception and/or the first actual reduction to practice of any invention or discovery.

iv. No claim for pecuniary award or compensation under the provision of the Atomic Energy Acts of 1946 and 1954 shall be asserted by the Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus with respect to any invention or discovery conceived or first actually reduced to practice during or under this Agreement.

Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti may also be members of experimental collaborations; such collaborations are voluntary associations that make their own rules regarding assigning credit for scientific activity via authorship lists for publications and other kinds of recognition.

j. Sensitive Technology & Export Control: Fermilab's current policies and procedures regarding sensitive science and technology or export-controlled information are applicable to non-employees including Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti, who must follow the appropriate processes for reviewing and screening.

k. Length of Appointment and Renewal: Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus appointments are for a period of one year.  The appointment may be renewed upon approval by the assigned ALD or Senior Director and the Laboratory Director.

6.  Definitions

Retired Guest is an appointment that may be granted to retired employees in recognition of service to the Laboratory.

Scientist Emeritus is an appointment that is bestowed as an honor upon outstanding retired scientific staff in recognition of meritorious service to the mission of the Laboratory.

Supervisor is the person assigned by the ALD or Senior Director as the supervisor of record for each Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus; the Supervisor documents and ensures that adequate training is completed and monitors the activities of the Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus.

7.  Responsibilities

Chief Research Officer (CRO) is responsible for ensuring communication of this policy, ensuring compliance, and updating it as appropriate. The CRO is also responsible for ensuring that individuals who are granted Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus appointment are in good standing and appropriately support the Fermilab mission.  The CRO, or their designee, will maintain a centralized archive of the documents and initiate the site access and badging process.

Associate Laboratory Directors and Senior Directors are responsible for providing appropriate oversight and ES&H training as is done for other visitors. Associate Laboratory Directors and Senior Directors assign a Supervisor of record to each Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus; the Supervisor documents and ensures that adequate training is completed and monitors the activities of the Retired Guest or Scientist Emeritus. 

Human Resources is responsible for saving applicable documentation in Fermiworks.

Laboratory Director is responsible, in consultation with the Chief Research Officer or Chief Operating Officer, for awarding Retired Guest and Scientist Emeritus appointments; these appointments are at the discretion of the Laboratory Director. 

Office of General Counsel (OGC) is responsible for providing advice and support regarding the policy and agreement templates.

8.  Authorities

FRA Prime Contract (DE-AC02-07CH11359): C-2, C-3.1.2 C-3.1.3, C-4 (b)(1)(c), and C-4(b)(8).

DOE Order 486.1(a)

9.  Owner

The Chief Research Officer is the owner of this policy.

10.  Review Cycle

This policy shall be reviewed every 2 years.

11.  Communication Plan

The requirements of this policy shall be communicated to all employees and current and prospective Retired Guests and Scientists Emeriti.  This policy shall be available online in the Fermilab policy database. The Chief Research Officer is responsible for the communication of this policy.

Revision History