No. 06-I-9 State Ethics Commission Official Advisory Opinion May 11, 2006
Summary
42 IAC 1-5-15 Nepotism (IC 4-15-7-1)
The language of the Nepotism rule does not encompass a supervisory position over a niece-in-law.
Background
The ethics officer for the Indiana Department of Health asks about the nepotism statute as it pertains to a situation that exists at the Department of Health. The situation concerns an employee directly supervising another employee who is the supervisor's niece by marriage. The supervisor's spouse is deceased.
Issue
Does the nepotism statue prohibit a state employee from directly supervising another employee who is her niece by marriage?
Relevant Law
IC 4-15-7-1 Nepotism
Conclusion
The relevant sub-section of the nepotism statute is (d), concerning supervision of relatives. Sub-section (b) of the statute lists the prohibited relationships for a supervisor/subordinate relationship within state government. The list contains some relationships that occur as a result of marriage: husband, wife, son-in-law and daughter-in-law. The fact that the statute does not prohibit a supervisory position with a niece-in-law would indicate that such a supervisory/subordinate position is not prohibited by the statute. This same issue was addressed in a prior Official Advisory Opinion on August 15, 1991. This opinion is consistent with the prior opinion on the subject.