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Oak Ridge narrows nepotism rule to ban direct-line supervision of relatives, council says
Summary
Council amended the personnel plan to prohibit direct line supervision of family members rather than barring relatives from working in the same department, aligning policy with modern HR practices and neighboring cities.
Council voted to amend the city's personnel plan to replace a department-wide nepotism ban with a narrower rule that would prohibit direct line supervision of family members.
"Our nepotism ordinance is currently written to say that immediate family members as defined in the ordinance cannot work within the same department in the city," the presenter said while outlining the change. The amendment would allow relatives to work in the same broad department provided they are not in a direct supervisory relationship; the presenter said this aligns with practices used by neighboring municipalities and addresses recruitment constraints the city has encountered.
Council approved the ordinance without recorded opposition and discussed operational examples (fire battalion chief vs. captain/shift assignments) to illustrate the difference between department-level and supervision-based restrictions.
