PURPOSE
To establish a statewide
policy to ensure that hiring and supervision in state government is
conducted in a manner, which enhances public confidence in government
and prevents situations which give the appearance of partiality, preferential
treatment, improper influence or a conflict of interest. In accordance
with this objective, the following sets forth the state of Ohio's
policy on hiring and supervision.
GENERAL
A. Definitions. For purposes
of this directive, the following definitions apply:
1. "Public official
or employee" means any person who is elected or appointed to
an office, or is an employee of any public agency under the jurisdiction
and control of the Governor or his appointees. Public employee includes
part-time interns, paid student help, temporary, intermittent and
seasonal employees.
2. "Closely related
by blood or marriage" is defined to include, but is not limited
to spouse, children (whether dependent or independent), parents, grandparents,
siblings, aunts, uncles, in-laws, steps and other persons related
by blood or marriage who reside in the same household.
3. "Significant relationship"
means persons living together as a spousal or family unit when not
legally married or related where the nature of the relationship may
impair the objectivity or independence of judgment of one individual
working with the other.
4. "Business associates"
are defined as parties who are joined together in a relationship for
business purposes or acting together to pursue a common business purpose
or enterprise.
5. "Supervision"
means the direct ability or power to effectively recommend the hire,
transfer, suspension, layoff, recall, promotion, discharge, assignment,
reward, discipline or settlement of disciplinary grievances/appeals
of other public employee, including the authority of a board or committee
to order personnel actions affecting the job.
All public officials and
state employees are prohibited from authorizing or using the authority
or influence of his or her position to secure the authorization of
employment or benefit (including a promotion or preferential treatment)
for a person closely related by blood, marriage or other significant
relationship including business association. This includes, but is
not limited to the following circumstances:
B. Hiring
1. Neither the Governor
nor Lieutenant Governor shall authorize or use the authority or influence
of his or her position to secure authorization of the employment of
a person closely related by blood, marriage or other significant relationship,
including business association, to serve in any position within state
government.
2. Except as provided in
Section D, no public official or employee serving as a department
director, assistant director, deputy director or any person of equivalent
rank shall have in the employ of his or her department any person
closely related by blood, marriage or other significant relationship
including business association.
3. Except as provided in
Section D, no human resource administrator, chief of human resources
or person of equivalent rank shall have in the employ of his or her
department any person closely related by blood, marriage or other
significant relationship including business association.
4. No employee in the personnel
area shall process any personnel actions or use the authority or influence
of his or her position to secure the employment of a person closely
related by blood, marriage or other significant relationship, including
business association.
C. Supervision
1. Except as provided in
Section D, no public official or employee shall supervise any person
closely related by blood, marriage or other significant relationship
including business association.
2. Should a supervisory
conflict arise, the department shall work expeditiously to relocate
or transfer one of the individuals to eliminate the conflict to the
extent permitted by law and/or collective bargaining agreement. This
relocation or transfer should be to a comparable position with minimal
inconvenience for the transferring employee.
3. No employee in the personnel
area shall review or be involved in the disciplinary actions of a
person closely related by blood, marriage or other significant relationship,
including business association.
D. Exceptions
1. Sections B and C shall
not apply to those circumstances in which:
a. A marital or other significant
relationship develops subsequent to both the public official's and/or
employee's employment with the department. (In this instance, the
department should make reasonable attempts to avoid a supervisory
conflict.);
b. The public official
or employee is employed by the department prior to the appointment
of a person closely related by blood, marriage or significant relationship
to the position of director, assistant director, deputy director or
personnel employee (e.g., a husband is employed at the agency and
his wife is offered the appointment of deputy director. Neither the
husband nor the wife must leave the agency. Although the department
should make reasonable attempts to assure that the wife does not directly
supervise her husband).
c. A person closely related
by blood, marriage or significant relationship obtains employment
with the same department as the result of bumping, displacement, recall
or some other non-discretionary personnel action.
d. The public official or employee served in a capacity other than
director, assistant director, deputy director or personnel employee
at the time the person closely related by blood, marriage or significant
relationship was hired by the department (e.g., a sister and brother
are both employed by a department and the sister achieves a promotion
to the personnel area of the department. A conflict does not exist
provided the sister does not process any personnel actions for her
brother).
e. The public official
or employee is employed in the personnel division of a department
that has more than one personnel office by virtue of the institutional
nature of the department, and a person closely related by blood or
marriage is hired by the personnel office of another location to work
for that location (e.g., a public employee is a personnel officer
at a Department of Youth Services Institution in Cleveland and his
brother is hired by the personnel division of a Department of Youth
Services Institution in Cincinnati).
f. A person closely related
by blood or marriage or has other significant relationship including
business association with the assistant director, deputy director
or any person of equivalent rank other than the human resource administrator
is not prohibited from working in the same department as long as the
assistant director, deputy director or any person of equivalent rank
does not participate in the hiring of the employee and has no direct
line of supervision.
PROCEDURES
Each department should
designate a human resources officer or other person to be personally
responsible for requesting nepotism information and accurately documenting
any information received by the applicant/transferring employee. A
model checklist, includes nepotism information, as well as other information,
which must be verified with every new hire or transfer. Agencies should
adopt this model checklist and add any other pertinent information
they deem necessary.
Every personnel action
form for a new hire, promotion or transfer posted after June 13, 1993,
must include a representation that all items contained in the pre-hire
review form were verified. This representation can be made by either
checking the box immediately above the appointing authority's signature
[on new forms] or typing in a statement in the Remarks section. Administrative
Services will not process any personnel action for a new hire, promotion
or transfer which does not include this representation.
ENFORCEMENT
All agencies are responsible
for adhering to the hiring and supervisory policies and procedures
listed above. Administrative Services will not accept a personnel
action for a new hire or transfer which does not contain the requisite
representation. Any violations of the criminal or ethics laws should
be reported to the Office of Chief Legal Counsel in the Governor's
office, as required by the Governor's Procedures for Responding to
Illegal Activity. Any violations of the Ethics laws may also be reported
to the Ohio Ethics Commission.
This directive supersedes
any previously issued directive or policy and will remain effective
until canceled or superseded.
AUTHORITY & REFERENCE
OAC 123:1-45-01
ORC 124.09