FILE: GBDA
Cf: BE, GBE
NEPOTISM
Decisions and the process included in the employment, assignment, and other related functions shall be conducted ethically and in accordance with state statutory provisions. As such, the Orleans Parish School Board shall require that no member of the immediate family of an agency head of the school system shall be employed in his/her agency. No member of the immediate family of a School Board member or of the Superintendent shall be employed by the School Board, with limited exceptions as outlined in policy BE, School Board Ethics.
In addition, it is the policy of the School Board not to discriminate in its employment and personnel actions with respect to its employees and applicants on the basis of marital or familial status. Notwithstanding this policy, the School Board retains the right to refuse to appoint a person to a position in the same department, division or facility, wherein his/her relationship to another employee has the potential for creating adverse impact on supervision, safety, security or morale, or involves a potential conflict of interest. The Department of Human Resources shall have the authority and responsibility for determining if such a potential for adverse impact exists or does not exist. If co-workers are or become involved in a relationship that may lead to conflicts of interest or other employee morale problems, the co-workers must consult with their supervisor and the Department of Human Resources.
The provisions of this policy shall not prohibit the continued employment of any School Board employee nor shall it be construed to hinder, alter or in any way affect normal promotional advancements for such employee should a member of that employee’s immediate family hereafter become the agency head of such employee’s agency provided that such employee has been employed in the agency for a period of at least one year prior to the member of that employee’s immediate family becoming the agency head.
If a member of the immediate family of a School Board member or the Superintendent is employed with the School Board under allowable exceptions outlined in policy BE, School Board Ethics, the School Board member or Superintendent, as the case may be, shall recuse himself/herself from any decision involving the promotion, discipline, termination or teaching location of the employee.
Within thirty (30) days after the beginning of each school year, any School Board member or Superintendent whose immediate family member is employed by the School Board shall file a disclosure statement with the Louisiana Board of Ethics stating the facts of such employment.
A willful violation of this policy may subject the offending party and/or his/her immediate supervisor to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
DEFINITIONS
Immediate family of an employee, for the purposes of this policy, means the employee’s children, spouses of children, brothers, sisters, parents, spouse and parents of spouse. This definition has been expanded by the School Board for purposes of assignment to positions as included in policy GBE, Assignment.
Agency means any department, office, division, subdivision or other organizational unit of the Orleans Parish School Board, and agency head means the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency who exercises supervision over the agency. For the purposes of the Orleans Parish School Board, the following shall apply:
For members of the School Board, the entire school district represents the agency of the School Board member and for purposes of this policy, the School Board member is the agency head of the entire school district.
Similarly, the Superintendent is the agency head for the entire school district and the agency of the Superintendent is the entire school district.
The agency of an Assistant Superintendent, a Director or a Supervisor is the division or office or other organizational unit of the School Board and school district over which the Assistant Superintendent, Director or Supervisor has general supervisory jurisdiction and which generally constitutes his/her sphere of influence, and would be considered the agency head of that division, office, or other organizational unit.
As to a school principal, the agency of the principal is the school at which he/she serves and he/she is the agency head of the particular school at which he/she is assigned.
A cafeteria manager assigned to a particular school is an employee of the school at which he/she serves and that school forms the agency employing the cafeteria manager and the cafeteria manager shall be considered the agency head of the cafeteria which he/she manages.
The agency of an administrator, department head or supervisor is to be determined with reference to his/her job duties and sphere of influence. Where a prospective employee would be subject to the supervision, direction, observation, evaluation, promotional input, etc. of a member of his/her immediate family, such employment is proscribed.
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:428, 42:1102, 42:1119, 42:1123
Orleans Parish School Board