This Month's Topic

Each month, a different human resources expert will add tools to the Toolkit by posting advice on a particular subject area and answering your questions in that area.

AU's Nepotism Policy

As summer approaches a number of high school and college students begin seeking employment through TES or student employment.  From time to time we run into issues where a family member is in the supervisory chain of command and does not realize that TES and student employees are subject to the same nepotism policy as our Administrative/Professional and University Staff employees.  Auburn University’s nepotism policy reads as follows:

    2.10.6 Nepotism - No person will be hired, either as a regular or temporary employee, for a position over which a member of the         employee's immediate family exercises supervisory or managerial authority.

Immediate family for this purpose is defined the same as under the University’s leave policies; it includes spouse, son, daughter, parents, stepchild, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandchild, grandparent, and grandparent-in-law.

What this means is that no TES or student may work in a department where there is any family member in the supervisory hierarchy.  So, for example, a department head’s step-son cannot work in that department head’s department – even if the department head is not the immediate supervisor.  However, the step-son could work in another department in that college and there would be no problem.  Similarly, the Dean’s brother-in-law could not work anywhere in that Dean’s college.  However, he could work in another college for another Dean and that would not be a problem.

Sometimes the concerns are not with the supervisory relationship itself but with other family members in sensitive positions.  For example, if the sister of the person handling payroll input for a department is hired into that department (and there is no reporting relationship there) it is not a violation of the nepotism policy.  However, supervisors would be wise to keep a keen eye on the payroll data entry just to ensure that all information entered for pay purposes is accurate and duly authorized.

Please keep these issues in mind not only during the summer, but throughout the year.  It is much easier to avoid policy violations by knowing the rules up front than to have the unpleasant situation of offering someone employment only to be required to end that assignment due to nepotism.

Back