Policy Text
Page 1 of 4 11/08 (REV 3/14)
Nepotism and Conflicting Relationships
The purpose of this General Order is to establish standards of conduct with regard to
personal and business relationshi ps among employees, particular ly those in a
supervisory capacity. This Order f urther establishes expectati ons of employees in their
associations with persons in cu stody or otherwise related to cr iminal activity.
I. Definitions
A. Relative : An employee’s parent, steppar ent, spouse, domestic partner,
significant other, child (natur al, adopted or step), sibling or grandparent.
B. Personal relationship : Includes marriage, cohabitation, dating or any
other intimate relationship beyond mere friendship.
C. Business relationship : Serving as an employee, independent contractor,
compensated consultant, owner, board member, shareholder or inv estor
in an outside business, company , partnership, corporation, vent ure or
other transaction where the Depar tment employee’s annual intere st,
compensation, investment or ob ligation is greater than $250.
D. Conflict of interest : Any situation or set of cir cumstances that reasonably
creates a risk, or appearance of risk, that a Department employ ee’s
action, inaction or decisions are or may be influenced by the e mployee’s
personal or business relationship.
E. Supervisor : An employee who has temporary or ongoing direct or indirect
authority over the actions, decis ions, evaluation or performanc e of a
subordinate employee.
F. Subordinate : An employee who is subject to the temporary or ongoing
direct or indirect aut hority of a supervisor.
II. Restricted Duties and Assignments
While the Department will not prohi bit personal or business rel ationships
between employees, the following reasonable restrictions shall apply:
A. Employees are prohibited from directly supervising or being directly
supervised by any other employee who is a relative or with whom they are
involved in a personal or business relationship.
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1. If circumstances require that such a supervisor/subordinate
relationship exists temporarily, t he supervisor shall make ever y
reasonable effort to defer matte rs involving the subordinate
employee to an uninvolved supervisor.
2. When personnel and circumstanc es permit, the Department will
attempt to make every reasonab le effort to avoid placing
employees in such superviso r/subordinate situations. The
Department, however, reserves the right to transfer or reassign any
employee to another position with in the same classification as it
may deem necessary to avoid conf licts with any provision of thi s
Order.
B. Employees are prohibited fr om participating in, contributing to or
recommending promotions, assignment s, performance evaluations,
transfers or other personnel dec isions affecting an employee wh o is a
relative or with whom they are involved in a personal or busine ss
relationship.
C. Field Training Officers and Sheriff’s Training Officers will not be assigned
to train relatives or other emplo yees with whom they are involv ed in a
personal or business relationshi p. Field Training Officers and Sheriff’s
Training Officers are p rohibited from enter ing into or maintain ing personal
or business relationships with any employee they are assigned t o train
until such time as the training has been successfully completed and the
employee is off probation.
D. Employees outlined in the def inition above ma y be routinely assigned in
close proximity during the course of their employment. Relativ es and
Personal Relationship employees m ay work during the same hours,
location and be assigned the same duty or assignment as the rel ative or
personal relation so long as the relationship does not adversel y affect the
performance of either party, does not involve conflicts of inte rest or create
hazards greater for the Relative and Personal Relationship empl oyees
than for other employees who are not relatives or involved in a personal
relationship.
III. Conflicting Relationships and Prohibited Associations
A. To avoid actual or perceiv ed conflicts of interest, members of this
Department shall refrain from dev eloping or maint aining persona l or
business relationships with vict ims, witnesses or other individ uals during
the course or as a direct result of any official contact.
B. Except as required in the perfo rmance of official duties or in the case of
relatives, employees shall not develop or maintain personal or business
relationships with any individual(s) who they know, or reasonab ly should
Page 3 of 4 11/08 (REV 3/14) know, are under criminal investi gation, convicted felons, gang associates,
parolees, fugitives, registered sex offenders or who engage in any felony
or misdemeanor violations of state or federal laws.
C. No employee shall fraternize with or engage in a personal or business
relationship with any person who is in custody or who has been released
from the custody of any jail or c orrectional institution within a period of 30
days after the release.
D. Any employee contacted by , or on behalf of, an inmate who ha s been
released from the custody of t he Department within 30 days shal l
immediately report such contac t to his/her Division Commander.
E. Employees shall not knowingly associate socially with the sp ouse,
domestic partner, significant o ther, dating companion or immedi ate family
member of any person in the cu stody of the Department without e xpress
written permission from the em ployee’s Division Commander.
IV. Employee’s