Substantial participation definition
Substantial participation means that the employee's involvement must be of significance to the matter or create a reasonable appearance of such significance. Sofaer, 728 A.2d at 643. A single act of approving or participating in a critical step may be substantial if the act is of significance to the matter. Id. at 643. This requires more than official responsibility, knowledge, perfunctory involvement, or involvement in only administrative or peripheral issues. Id. at 643.
Substantial participation means active participation in actual production of the product for at least one-third of the production time, for "most" of the Market season for indirectly produced products and for "much" of the Market season for directly produced products.