237City of Anaheim Administrative Regulation
Chapter 2 — EMPLOYMENT PROCEDURES
Subject: Employment of Family Members A.R.: 237
In the Workplace Issue Date: August 5, 1989
Revised: December 13, 2006
Page (1) of (3)
Purpose:
The purpose of this regulation is to supplement Section 710 of the Charter of the City of
Anaheim and Personnel Rule 30 addressing the employment of immediate family
members and to provide direction in handling such circumstances.
In keeping with the City's commitment to equal opportunity in employment, family
relationships should not be permitted to affect decisions related to employment, job
assignment, promotion, performance evaluation, and other personnel actions. This
regulation prohibits officials, managers, or supervisors from exerting personal influence
to aid or hinder others in employment matters due to family relationships. It will also
minimize any potential conflicts of interests or adverse impacts on supervision, safety,
security, morale and public criticism.
The business necessity of this regulation is to eliminate perceptions of "special
treatment" to family members of City employees; avoid potential threats of retaliation
when supervisors discipline relatives of managers or officials in authority; and reduce
security concerns when relatives are unable to keep confidential issues from one
another.
Definitions:
For purposes of this regulation "City" shall include not only the City of Anaheim but all
City of Anaheim created or related entities including but not necessarily limited to the
Anaheim Redevelopment Agency, the Anaheim Housing Authority and any other entity
for which the City of Anaheim is responsible for staffing.
For purposes of this regulation "immediate family members" shall mean relationships
within the third degree of consanguinity (blood relation), affinity (marriage) or adoption
and shall include the following family members: spouse, parent, child, sibling,
grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, father/mother-in-law,
son/daughter-in-law, brother/sister-in-law, step parent, step child, step brother/sister,
half brother/sister or domestic partner and domestic partners relations with any of the
family relationships listed above.
City of Anaheim Administrative Regulation 237
Page (2) of (3)
For purposes of this regulation "supervision" shall include the assignment of work,
evaluation of performance, setting or influencing of pay, or granting of benefits by one
City employee to another.
This regulation is applicable to all City departments and divisions, and affects full time
employment as well as staff employed through temporary employment agencies.
The City Council shall not appoint any person who is an immediate family member of
any member of the City Council.
The City Manager, Executive Managers and other officers having appointive power shall
not appoint an immediate family member or that of any Council Member to any City
position.
No person shall be appointed, promoted, transferred or reassigned to a position in
which that person is directly supervised by an immediate family member.
The City Manager, Executive Managers and others with appointive power shall not
recommend appointment of any immediate family member to any other management
employee in any other city department. Immediate family members of a management
employee may be employed as employees in other departments over which the
management employee has no administrative control so long as the management
employee make no recommendation or attempt to influence the employment decision.
At the discretion of the Executive Manager, to be exercised prior to the employment,
promotion, transfer or reassignment decision, immediate family members need not be
employed in, or promoted, transferred, or reassigned to, a position which provides one
of such immediate family members with access to confidential or privileged information
which affects or involves the financial or personal interests of any other immediate
family member.
Any appointment made in violation of this regulation shall be void and those affected
shall be returned to their prior employment status.
Procedure:
Each department will be responsible to ensure that employees are aware of the City's
regulations regarding the employment of immediate family members.
All employees are required to inform their Department supervisor/manager when they
become aware of any immediate family member being considered for employment
within their Department.
City of Anaheim Administrative Regulation 237
Page (3) of (3)
All applicants for employment, promotion, transfer or reassignment to a position in a
Department shall be required to disclose the name(s) and position title(s) of any
immediate family members currently employed in the same Department prior to the
action taking place.
An employee who becomes "an immediate family member" by marriage of any other
employee within his or her Department subsequent to appointment must disclose the
new relationship(s) to his/her supervisor.
There shall be no waiver of this regulation except as may be approved by the City
Manager upon a determination that the public interest or public safety served by
approving such waiver outweighs any public interest which would be served by denying
such waiver.
Employees who marry may continue in their present positions with the approval of the
executive manager, so long as there is not a direct or indirect supervisor / subordinate
relationship between the employees or an actual conflict of interest. If a supervisory
relationship exists, an attempt shall be made to reach a mutual agreement between the
employees affected on who will transfer. If an agreement cannot be reached, the least
senior employee will be transferred to a comparable position in another division or
department. The Executive Manager will retain the right to refuse to place either in the
same department, division or facility (even if a supervisory relationship does not exist) if
the situation has the potential for creating adverse impact on supervision, safety,
security, morale or involves conflicts of interest.
Immediate family members working in the same department or division at the time of
implementation of this regulation may continue in such employment positions providing
that no direct supervision relationship exists between them.
Upon adoption of this regulation, managers and supervisors shall review their current
workforce for compliance with this regulation and violations arising from direct or indirect
supervisory relationships. In all such cases, efforts will be made to alleviate or minimize
the situations by reassigning one or both employees. In those functions where safety
issues are most critical, this will be done expeditiously and to the extent necessary to
protect all of the employees within the work group.
Responsibility:
Each Department and Division Head shall be responsible for administering this policy
within his or her unit of responsibility. All employment situations which conflict with any
provisions of this regulation identified must be immediately reported to the Human
Resources Department for further assistance.
Attachments: None