I probably get at least one inquiry a week from someone absolutely sure that they’ve been a victim of nepotism. The boss is hiring family members or friends. A family member is promoted even though she’s incompetent or inexperienced. Or even worse, they complained about the incompetent family member and were fired.
The injustice of it all. Surely they can sue!
Nope. Sorry. There is zero I can do about nepotism. Zip. Nada.
Playing favorites is not illegal. Hiring relatives is not illegal. Not if you’re in the private sector. Now, if you work for government, every state has some law about conflict of interest or hiring relatives at certain level. You’ll have to check your state and local laws if you work for government and think something illegal is going on.
But nepotism in the private sector? It’s expected. It’s mostly legal. Here’s what might be illegal in a situation involving nepotism:
Failure to disclose: Under Sarbanes-Oxley, management has to disclose potential conflicts of interest. So hiring of relatives, while probably legal even for publicly-held companies, can’t be hidden from shareholders. The SEC can be called in to investigate allegations of undisclosed conflicts. If you object to this type of illegal behavior, you might be a protected whistleblower.
Discrimination: If the favored few are all of the same race, religion, national origin, or other protected category, the company could be engaging in illegal discrimination.
Sexual harassment: If the boss favors only individuals who have engaged in sexual relations with her, and you’ve turned her down, you might have a sexual harassment claim (although sexual favoritism is mostly legal).
Donna’s tips:
a. If your boss is the owner’s niece, be nice. I don’t care if she’s incompetent. Deal with it.
b. Don’t write a long letter complaining about the incompetent friend or relative. It can and will get you fired.
c. If you think the company has crossed the line into illegal discrimination, or you work for a publicly-held corporation and they are treating it like a family business, you might want to talk to an attorney about potentially blowing the whistle. Just be careful. Most Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower cases are dismissed. They are difficult to bring and difficult to win.
d. If you see that only friends and relatives have a future at your company, start looking. Get out on your timetable rather than waiting until you’re forced to leave on their terms.
Donna, can you say more about discrimination in this context? If the owner is promoting all family members, they're going to all be the same race/national origin -- but it's not *because* of their race/national origin that they're being promoted, it's because they're family members. Would there be a discrimination issue there?
ReplyDeleteTell me where a relative is hired over someone with more experience just because they are a family member. Is there discrimination?
DeleteI love AAM question. Especially because there were cases involving Korean (I think?) janitors who were hiring from their own neighborhood--therefore, everyone was Korean. I don't remember how it turned out. Ha! Bad question from me.
ReplyDeleteBut thanks for the nepotism info. I get that question often as well. My answer is always "it's legal. Stupid, but legal."
Alison - I think a truly family-run business would skate on discrimination. The issue becomes stickier with friends, distant relatives, and friendly acquaintances. If you promote your friends, and all your friends happen to be of the same race/national origin, you might be crossing a line.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne - I'm glad I'm covering an issue you hear about frequently. I get questions on this all the time. Thanks for letting me know it was helpful.
Does an employer have the right to make his employees work overtime day after day? "(The company pays for overtime). I am utterly exhausted, and I am a nurse who constantly drives to see patients. I think it is a safety issue, as well as a quality of life issue.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Kaliki, I don't know of any general law limiting the amount of overtime employers can make you work. Some specific professions have safety limitations, and so do some union contracts. If you think it's a safety issue, you might speak to the entity that regulates nursing in your state to see if they have some limits.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't SOX only apply to public companies?
ReplyDeletePretty much Monica. Most employers aren't covered. Here's what OSHA's fact sheet says about SOX coverage:
ReplyDeleteA company is covered by section 806 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) if it has a class
of securities registered under Section 12 of the
Securities Exchange Act or is required to file
reports under Section 15(d) of that Act. Its subsidiaries,
contractors, subcontractors, or agents
may also be covered.
On July 21, 2010, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was
amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111-
203) to extend coverage to “nationally recognized
statistical rating organizations,…as defined in
Section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act, and
their contractors, subcontractors and agents.”
I have work at this company a little over a year but just transfer over to the shop area and the boss there hired his little brother just a few weeks before I got there and he gets whatever shift he wants and weekends off while I never had them off and already making him lead man when I wasn't given the option or anyone else then a month later he hires on his causen for a poison I didn't even know was open that pays a lot better then what I'm doing. So is there anything I can do to stop this?
ReplyDeleteHi Doyle. Probably not, but if all the family members are of, say, a different national origin or race than you, you might want to talk to an employee-side employment lawyer in your state.
ReplyDeletemy husband was passed over for a job he was qualified for because of nepotism. This in law enforcement in Utah, and he has been passed over twice based on the fact that my brother already works for the department. So now is there anything he can do? Or does he just have to roll over and take it?
ReplyDeleteHi Ilse. An answer to your question will be up on August 2.
DeleteWhat about nepotism in a nonprofit nursing home where 99% or more of their income is from Medicare/Medicaid?
ReplyDeleteHi Steven. An answer to your question will be up on August 2.
DeleteI have a question regarding refusal to hire because of relation. I worked with my husband (when we were still dating) at his current employer. I submitted a resume because they stated I was not applying within the department so I was eligible. And I left on good terms. But now that my resume has been submitted, they say no because of the nepotism policy they have in effect. Can they deny my employment for this reason? AND if so, would they have been able to fire one of us after we got married while I was already employed there?
ReplyDeleteHi Ed. An answer to your question will be up on August 2.
DeleteIs it nepotism when my family member is my boss (my fathers sister) and has singled me out with hours being cut,suspensions being done and as well as many write ups.Also with the threat of being fired and saying I am a causing a hostile work environment for other coworkers. I have been an employee for 25 years and was recently recognized by corporate for my "outstanding service". In the recent year the family dynamics have changed,with death and other circumstances.There is really no need or desire to communicate to management on a personal level. This leads me to the question of nepotism. Thank you for your response in advance.
ReplyDeletewhat about if The General Manager's wife works in a separate group within the company of which i am the manager for. How much can he intervene on work-related problems with her?
ReplyDeleteIs it discrimination if I was not hired solely due to my mother already being employed by a company to which I applied?
ReplyDeleteSame question as above
DeleteExcept I was laid off as a result of my mother being hired as manager after I was /already/ employed
my svp and directors only hires people who will go along with his scams of theft of service and over spending of budgets. I have bought this problem of TOS and having to look the other way to company hotlines, the head of HR and the publisher of the big newspaper I come from and they all told me they can't find any problems that I know are going on. I feel because I have been left bend for 28 years this company has ruined my management career and have ruined my revenue stream for the length of service. O i have any recourse to collect the $$$ that I have missed out on for my length of service which amount to $300,000 in my estimation
ReplyDeleteI work at a small company that engages in nepotism. As an example, my manager's wife is the payroll clerk. Employees had the option of getting paid monthly or bi-monthly. I was pressured by my manager to change my pay frequency because his wife was tired of doing it bi-monthly. This was done outside of any attempt to make the change as a matter of company policy. I think this is a case where nepotism has created an adverse situation for me. What are the legal consequences?
ReplyDeleteI work at a small company that engages in nepotism. As an example, my manager's wife is the payroll clerk. Employees had the option of getting paid monthly or bi-monthly. I felt pressure from my manager to change my pay frequency because his wife is tired of doing it bi-monthly. This was done outside of any attempt to make the change as a matter of company policy. I think this is a case where nepotism has created an adverse situation for me. What are the legal consequences?
ReplyDeleteHere's my deal. My boss has hired his 18 son. He allows his son who has farless experience then me to operate equipment while I with 12 plus years of experience, get stuck doing the back breaking work.
ReplyDeleteAlso I would like to add here some instances of what I feel are clear discrimination. Please review them and tell me if theses constitute discrimination. Thanks.
On the morning of June 11 2015 Frank had questioned me about my Islamic faith. Later while on lunch break franks Adams made derogatory comments about Arabs calling them "towel heads" Bob " also said Arabs are "towel heads"
Towards the end of the month of January early February I was taking a break during snow removal. Bob had bought pizza with pepperoni (pork) on it. I kindly refused to eat it. Since then Tony from facility services has made insulting comments about me not eating pork and some Islamic practices like early morning prayer. he has also made comments about me losing my job,or being let go. Further On Feb4, 2015 I was taking my break at the facility grounds building. When Tony (last name unknown) made comments to the affect of "We should kill everyone in Iraq as well as a the muslim savages here in America. Bob Burke agreed with him and said that they should kill them all even women and children. This was not the first occasion.
The owner of the company I work for has hired his wifes best friend. She comes and pleases as she wants, does not have the same load as anyone else, and is paid more. There are pics of her, the owner, and his wife enjoying weekend get aways at the beach. I quit my job because I was receiving less to do more. This is illegal right?
ReplyDeleteHere is my deal. I used to work for a company- not publicly traded- there were two partners that owned the business. Partner 1 hired his sister while partner 2 had no idea that it was Partner 1's sister. The sister was paid over the going rate for her job. Not until the partners split did we find out that it was his sister all along. Do we have any means to sue Partner 1?
ReplyDeleteI am a nurse.. I work for a government entity.. the "Boss" hired my sister in law.. she has no education or background in nursing. But now they have promoted her to "Sgt" I said bull I am not going to let a laymen tell me what I will or won't do with the license that I worked for.. that I went to school for.. and that I took state Board for.. is this nepotism of some sort.?.?
ReplyDeleteI returned from work after two months of being out on a medical illness. When I returned, my job title and duties changed. two years later I had a baby. Again another job title and change. Then after another employee was going out on medical leave I was told they would "giving me back my department" only to find out three days later the CEO decided to give his daughter who had been working under me the job. I had to sit there while the CEO and his daughter combed through my job duties to see what she wanted to keep and what they would allow me to still do. for the last 3 years my job title has changed three times and lets not even talk about how many times my job description has changes. Its been like every 3-6 months. I was/am a director but really they treat me as a glorified data entry person. Another opportunity opened up for me to possibly be able to run another department bu they gave it to a friend of the family. is there nothing I can do?
ReplyDeleteIf u had a family member that worked at a job before you did and they got fired for theif can they not consider you for employment because of him
ReplyDeleteI have worked for an IT co for nearly 5 years now. It's a home/office. My problem came along when i asked for leave and my boss hired her cousin to fill in while i was away. i had never missed a day of work and My time away was the first time in four years and had a hard time deciding cos i thought i might lose my job because i spoke up. Now six months later the cousin is working full time. He has learnt nothing i taught him, messes up dispatch and flings every request to me. all mistakes that he makes its seen as overworking and he gets a raise right after that. Even when things came up missing in the office and the home he got another raise. i however got a raise last year and it was 5% of what i already earned. I have racked in more than USD500k in profits total and right now i have tried applying elsewhere but the industry in my country is very small so they know who i am before i show up. i cry myself in the bathroom to get through some days. while the cousin misses work because he was out drinking or its pay day. Being nice has become much harder when i am excluded.
ReplyDelete