Nepotism
(5 CFR, Part 310 (1/1/99)
Subpart A--Restrictions on the Employment of Relatives
§310.101 Coverage
This subpart applies to appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in (a) the competitive service; and (b) the excepted service in the executive branch.
§310.102 Definitions
In this subpart:
(a) Relative means father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt,
first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson,
stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
(b) Public official means an officer, a member of the uniformed services, an
employee, and any other individual, in whom is vested the authority by law, rule, or
regulation, or to whom the authority has been delegated, to appoint, employ, promote, or
advance individuals, or to recommend individuals for appointment, employment, promotion,
or advancement.
(c) Chain of Command is the line of supervisory personnel that runs from a public
official to the head of his agency.
§310.103 Restrictions
(a) A public official shall not advocate one of his relatives for
appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement to a position in his agency or in an
agency over which he exercises jurisdiction or control.
(b) A public official shall not appoint, employ, promote, or advance to a position in his
agency or in an agency over which he exercises jurisdiction or control:
(1) One of his relatives; or
(2) The relative of a public official of his agency, or of a public official who exercises
jurisdiction or control over his agency, if the public official has advocated the
appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of that relative.
(c) For the purpose of this section, a public official who recommends a relative, or
refers a relative for consideration by a public official standing lower in the chain of
command, for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement is deemed to have
advocated the appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of the relative.
(d) This section does not prohibit the appointment in the competitive service of a
preference eligible if (1) his name is within reach for selection from an appropriate
certificate of eligibles and (2) an alternative selection cannot be made from the
certificate without passing over the preference eligible and selecting an individual who
is not a preference eligible.
Subpart B--Emergency Exceptions
§310.201 Coverage
This subpart applies to an office, agency, or other establishment in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Federal Government, and in the government of the District of Columbia.
(5 U.S.C. 3110)
§310.202 Exceptions
When necessary to meet urgent needs resulting from an emergency posing an immediate threat to life or property, or a national emergency as defined in §230.402(a)(1) of this title, a public official may employ relatives to meet those needs without regard to the restrictions in section 3110 of title 5, United States Code, and this part. Appointments under these conditions are temporary not to exceed 1 month, but may be extended for a 2nd month if the emergency need still exists.
[60 FR 3058, Jan. 13, 1995]
