The MSPB report listed a series of tips for employees and agency management to avoid nepotism.
For employees, these include: consulting the agency’s ethics advisor about any potential conflict of interest; disclosing the issue to a supervisor or other suitable agency official; and obtaining permission to recuse himself or herself from involvement in the matter that involves a relative or other person with whom the employee has a covered relationship.
Recommended steps for agency leaders include:
* Making better use of HR staff as partners to advise officials on the rules and to raise warning alerts if personnel actions seem suspicious.
* Requiring additional certifications that personnel actions have not been improperly influenced where there could be questions.
* Educating executives, managers, supervisors, and employees about the rules of ethical conduct, including what it means to avoid nepotism and how they can achieve a merit-based workplace.
* Ensuring that competitions for positions are as fair and open as is practical for the positions in question.
* Holding officials accountable for their own conduct and for supervising the conduct of their subordinates.
