Moonlighting is when someone works more than one job at a time. According to USLegal, moonlighting usually refers to when a person holds a second job outside of normal working hours. Therefore, someone could work a normal 9-to-5 job as a primary source of income but work at another night job to earn extra money. Some employers welcome moonlighting because moonlighters are often cheaper and are more willing to work flexible hours than regular employees.
Some employers may have policies prohibiting their employees from working additional jobs. These policies may stem from issues such as conflicts of interests, job performance, or misuse of an employer’s resources. An example of a prohibition of moonlighting is a limitation on federal employees; federal employees cannot receive income from more than one federal government source.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]