Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3337 - Ohio University › Chapter 3337-40 - Policies on Discrimination and Benefits › Section 3337-40-107 - Nepotism

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A)
								Overview
Ohio ethics law and the related
				statutes found in the Revised Code generally prohibit public officials and
				employees from misusing their official positions for their own personal benefit
				or the benefit of their family members. The purpose of this policy is to ensure
				the hiring and supervision by and within the university is conducted in
				compliance with the Ohio ethics laws and in a manner that enhances public
				confidence in the university, prevents situations which give the appearance of
				partiality, preferential treatment, improper influence, and conflict of
				interest.
Relationship by family, marriage, or
				domestic partnership will not preclude hiring, promotion, or transfer, as long
				as the individual meets and fulfills the appropriate appointment standards.
				This policy provides guidance regarding the initial employment of family
				members and influencing employment of, or employment decisions regarding,
				family members. This policy also applies to situations where there is a change
				in family status for employees after employment. For example, the marriage of a
				supervisor to a supervisee would be a change in status that would cause the
				parties to be subject to this policy.
(B)
								Definitions
"University employee" means any person
				who is appointed to or is an employee of Ohio university, regardless of the
				source of funding for the employee's position. University employee applies to
				all forms of employment by Ohio university, including regular and term, full-
				and part-time appointments to administrative, classified, research, and
				bargaining unit positions, to overload contracts, to graduate appointments, and
				to graduate and undergraduate student employment (including employment under
				the program to aid career exploration, "PACE," and federal work study, "FWS,"
				programs), and courtesy appointments.
"Family member," for purposes of this
				policy only, includes but is not limited to the following: spouse, domestic
				partner, children (biological, step, adopted, or foster), legal wards,
				siblings, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, father-inlaw,
				mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and
				other persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage.
"Supervision" means the direct ability
				to affect, or the power to effectively recommend, the hiring, renewal,
				evaluation, assignment of duties, establishment or adjustment of compensation
				and benefits, transfer, suspension, layoff, recall, promotion, discharge,
				reward, discipline, or settlement of the disciplinary grievances or appeals of
				another university employee.
(C)
								Hiring of family
			 members
All university employees are prohibited
				from recommending, nominating, authorizing, or using the authority or influence
				of their position to secure the authorization of employment, for a family
				member.
(D)
								Supervision of family members
No university employee shall supervise
				any family member or participate (formally or informally) in any decision, or
				use their position to secure any decision, which affects the continuation,
				implementation, or terms and conditions of a family member's employment, nor
				provide direct approval of a family member's time sheets or
				payroll.
(E)
								Allowable and alternative arrangements
(1)
									Permitted
			 circumstances
Nothing in this policy prohibits two
				family members from being hired and working for the university, even within the
				same department, provided all parties comply with the terms of this policy. The
				following circumstances are permitted by this policy:
(a)
										A family member
			 is not prohibited from obtaining employment within the same department as a
			 result of hiring, bumping, displacement, recall, promotion, appointment, or
			 some other non-discretionary personnel action. Employment within the same
			 department may also occur when a marital or other significant relationship
			 develops subsequent to the employee's employment with the department. The
			 family members are not prohibited from continuing to work for the university or
			 specific department.
(b)
										A supervisory employee is not prohibited from working
			 in the same department as a family member, provided the supervisory employee
			 does not participate in the hiring of the employee and alternative arrangements
			 have been made ensuring the avoidance of a direct line of
			 supervision.
(c)
										A university employee is not prohibited from approving
			 a union contract when their family member is a member of the union, unless the
			 relative serves as a union officer, board member, or on the union negotiating
			 team.
(d)
										A university employee is not prohibited from
			 participating in general decisions that impact classes of employees, one of
			 whom is a family member (e.g., unit- or university-wide decisions regarding
			 salary increases, layoffs, changes in benefits, etc.).
(e)
										A university
			 employee is not prohibited from participating in a general budgetary
			 appropriation that includes money to fund a family member's compensation and
			 benefits, or from participating in budgetary appropriations to a department
			 that employs a family member.