Help with Nepotism Policy

System

My company has been around for over 50 years but I am the first HR Manager. In traveling to our many facilities, I noticed many, many family members supervising one another. Apparently, too many family members has become a problem in some areas, so I have written a nepotism policy to help with the problems. Part of the policy states that family members cannot supervise one another, be involved in the compensation, promotion, transfer, or performance evaluation of one another, or create a perceived conflict of interest in the department. But, this policy is still on my boss's desk for final review. Now, I have just been informed that a foreman in Arkansas has hired his second son to work for him. In this same division and city, we have two sisters who work in the same office and they want to hire their third sister for the current clerical position we have open. No one knows about the new policy on nepotism, so the foreman did nothing wrong. The general manager just called to ask me what to do since he does not want to hire the third sister. He feels he already has a potential problem with the two sisters and does not want to add to this situation. Would we be setting ourselves up for a possible lawsuit if we allow the foreman to keep his son but refuse to hire the sister? Please give me your input on this as I have to make a quick decision. Thanks.

Margaret Morford

Wow! This really is a sticky problem. I think you should get some legal advice. With that said, you could consider putting in the Nepotism policy and state that you will "grandfather in" all current family realtionships but will not create any more. This means no hirings, no promotions, etc. You would have to absolutely stick with it. I also would add language to the policy that say supervise directly "or indirectly" (cannot be in the manager's chain of command). Just because there is a manager between the two related individuals doesn't remove the concern about favortism. No employee will believe that a manager wouldn't give special treaement to his/her boss's family members that he/she supervises. Hope that helps!

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Crout

I agree with Ms. Morford's suggestions in the main, however, why can't the foreman pick another candidate who is equally qualified? I am assuming that you have more than one candidate for the position. If not, you may be stuck with the third sister. On the other hand, are the foreman's concerns truly valid? What are they based on? Too often, the so-called "concerns" of supervisors have more to do with their own defecits rather than anything that has to do with the candidate. The foreman may be thinking that the three sisters together will undermine his/her authority. That's an emotional response and should have no bearing on the decision to hire. Good luck with your problem.