Articles and Newsletters

SUMMER JOBS AND RESTRICTIONS ON NEPOTISM
By Susan Keating Anderson

With summer fast approaching, many school districts are interviewing and hiring summer help such as landscapers, cleaners or recreational employees/camp counselors. Such jobs are often filled by young adults or teenagers on summer break from school, which begs the question of whether a school district may hire a minor child or other family member of an employee or board member without violating the myriad of laws that regulate the conduct of public officials and employees. It may surprise you to learn that under Ohio Ethics law and the Ohio Revised Code, the answer to that question is in fact yes, so long as the district follows the requirements set forth below.

Hiring Minor Family Members

• A district may hire the minor family members of its employees or board members if:

  • Its hiring process is fair and open and will not favor the children of district employees or officials;

  • It provides a broad opportunity to qualified and interested applicants to submit applications;

  • All qualified and interested applicants who are not related to district officials or employees have already been hired and vacancies still exist

  • The public has full knowledge of the district official/employee's interest;

  • The district employee/official cannot participate in any way in the hiring process, deliberation or decision.
    

• If the minor is a family member of a board member, then in addition to the above requirements, the board member must also agree that s/he will not exercise their statutory right to the child's earnings.
  

• A common mistake districts often make is failing to disseminate a job posting widely enough (i.e., only posting in district buildings or communicating open positions to school employees alone). A district must make sure it widely advertises the position both inside and outside of the school community.
  

• "Minor" is defined as under the age of eighteen and unemancipated.

Hiring Adult Family Members

• Hiring adult family members is a much simpler process, and may occur if:
  
  
  • The district employee/official does not participate in the hiring/recommendation process in any manner, informally or formally; and
    
    
  • The district does not give preferential treatment to the family member

Family Members Defined

• Family members include:
  • Husbands or wives;
  • Children or grandchildren (of any age);
  • Parents or grandparents;
  • Brothers or sisters, and
  • Step-children or step-parents.

Applicability to School District Employees

• A public employee/official subject to the restraints above is any person who is elected or appointed to an office or is an employee of any public agency, including a school district. Note that it does not include a teacher whose position does not involve the performance of, or authority to perform, administrative or supervisory functions.

Penalties for Violations

• An employee or board member found to have an unlawful interest in a public contract may be subject to felony or misdemeanor charges.

• The contract will also be void and unenforceable.

Conclusion

While school districts may hire minor or adult family members of its employees and/or board members, a district must ensure it complies with the parameters set forth above to avoid any implied or actual impropriety. Given the troubled economic times and the heightened scrutiny being placed on public entities, officials and its employees, a school district should tread carefully and methodically when engaging in hiring practices that could result in the hiring of a family member, particularly one who is a minor.

Additional Information

For more information on this or other Education Law issues, please feel free to contact one of the Education Law Group attorneys at Walter & Haverfield LLP