The employment of relatives in the same area of an organization may cause serious conflicts and problems with favoritism and employee morale.
In addition to claims of partiality in treatment at work, personal conflicts from outside the work environment can be carried over into day-to-day working relationships.
For purposes of this policy, a relative is any person who is related by blood or marriage, or whose relationship with the employee is similar to that of persons who are related by blood or marriage. This policy applies to all employees without regard to the gender or sexual orientation of the individuals involved.
Relatives of current employees may not occupy a position that will be working directly for or supervising their relative.
If a relative relationship is established after employment between employees who are in a reporting situation described above, it is the responsibility and obligation of the supervisor involved in the relationship to disclose the existence of the relationship to management and to remedy the situation. The supervisor will determine if one of the individuals will be transferred to another available position or will have a different reporting relationship. If that decision is not made within 30 calendar days, management will decide who is to be transferred or, if necessary, terminated from employment.
In other cases where a conflict or the potential for conflict arises because of the relationship between employees, even if there is no line of authority or reporting involved, the employees may be separated by reassignment or terminated from employment.
Effective Date: 2/1/2004
Reviewed: 09/2018