A senior official in Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy engaged in nepotism by advocating for his three children to get jobs through the department’s Student Temporary Employment Program, the department’s inspector general has said.
It said that while STEP appointments are exempted from the usual competitive selection examining procedures that responsibility remains for ensuring a fair and open competitive process during the selection of STEP participants.
The IG said it substantiated the allegation that the senior official was actively involved in securing STEP intern appointments for his three college-aged children, but did not substantiate a related allegation that he enrolled them in costly, inappropriate training
Management concurred with the recommendations in the report to strengthen internal controls over hiring processes within the department.