Policies & Procedures

PA3011 Nepotism Policy

Nepotism Policy

SUNY Broome Community College is committed to providing and maintaining a working and learning environment where every individual is evaluated on his or her performance without favoritism. Nepotism is favoritism by a person in an evaluative or supervisory position to a relative or to any person living in the immediate household of an employee. A relative is one connected to another by blood, adoption, marriage or living circumstances. This policy is to ensure that the College makes reasonable efforts to assign job duties to minimize the potential for creating an adverse impact on supervision, safety, security, or morale, refrain from placing immediate family or relatives in the same department, division or facility, or creating other potential conflicts of interest. Disclosure of such association must be made in writing to the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources before such hiring is commenced.

Immediate Family Definition

For the purposes of this policy, “immediate family” shall be defined as those relatives or step-relatives including, but not limited to, the following relationships to the employee or the employee’s spouse: Spouse, domestic partner, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren, stepchildren, children for which the employee or spouse is a legal guardian, foster child, foster parent, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and in-laws or any other relative living in the employee’s household. The College reserves the right to expand this definition in its discretion, depending upon the circumstances.

Hiring, Supervising, and Instructing

This policy is established to ensure that hiring, transfers, promotions, disciplinary action, supervision and all other aspects of the College’s day-to-day operations are conducted in a manner which seeks to prevent partiality, preferential treatment, improper influence, or conflict of interest or the appearance thereof. This policy is necessary to ensure the efficient operation of the College and to increase public confidence that officials and employees of the College act with integrity to promote the goals and welfare of the College. This policy shall apply to all College employees and student employment.

SUNY Broome Community College prohibits an employee from evaluating, supervising, approving web-time entry, or making any employment decision whatsoever regarding a relative or any person living in the immediate household of the employee or who is an immediate family member of the employee.

SUNY Broome Community College prohibits any employee from providing academic instruction to or assessing the academic performance of a relative or any person who is living in the immediate household of the employee or who is an immediate family member of the employee, as those terms are defined above.

No official or employee shall use his or her authority or influence because of his or her position at the College to transfer, effect promotion for, give preferential treatment to, or to hire or cause to be hired any person closely related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other significant relationship to serve in any position of the College. Employees are prohibited from directly supervising a relative, as defined as above.

Employees have an obligation and responsibility to immediately disclose in writing to the appropriate supervisor and department head/director/Dean and the office of Human Resources that a conflict of interest may exist prior to making any employment decisions. Failure of the employee to notify SUNY Broome Community College of any association may lead to disciplinary action.