Not all California state offices have anti-nepotism policies. That could change soon

The State Personnel Board is preparing to require all state offices to adopt anti-nepotism policies following high-profile shakeups at California state government departments in recent years.

The Department of Industrial Relations froze hiring and voided a promotion last year after the State Auditor and the personnel board each found a web of nepotism had helped former director Christine Baker hire and promote her daughter.

The Legislature stripped the tax-collecting Board of Equalization of most of its powers in 2017 after auditors found about 800 employees among 4,200 were related to each other.

A state law from 1934 law says hiring must be based on merit, but the law didn’t create civil service statutes or regulations that specifically prohibit nepotism.

Many departments have policies, but some don’t. In routine audits of departments’ nepotism policies in 2019, the personnel board found nine out of 29 departments lacked policies or had incomplete policies, according to a report the board submitted to the Legislature.

The report cited “staff turnover, workload issues, and lack of understanding” as causes for the incomplete policies.

The personnel board sometimes opens investigations based on whistleblower tips — a function that was added under former Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown’s efforts to reorganize and modernize state government led the personnel board to propose the new anti-nepotism rule, said Suzanne Ambrose, the personnel board’s executive officer.

“The purpose of it is just to provide clear direction and consistency,” Ambrose said.

The state is not allowed to prohibit coworkers from getting married, and working with a relative isn’t illegal, nor will it be under the new proposal. What is illegal is trying to influence the hiring process to benefit a friend or family member.

“We’re the biggest employer, especially in Sacramento,” Ambrose said, referring to the state government. “A lot of relatives work for the state, but whether they’re actually being hired by their relatives is another question. What this regulation does is it clarifies.”

The personnel board has approved the proposal, which would define nepotism as “an employee’s use of influence or power to hire or assign an applicant or employee because of a personal relationship.”

A virtual public hearing is scheduled on Dec. 22 at 10 a.m. The proposal could be adjusted based on public comment and will likely become law in roughly a year, Ambrose said.

This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Not all California state offices have anti-nepotism policies. That could change soon."