Senate Bill S4268

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4268

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting
elected officials, state officers or employees, members of the
legislature and legislative employees from supervising a relative


 PURPOSE :

To amend Public Officers Law §73(14)(a) to prohibit a State employee
from supervising a relative.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one amends Public Officers Law §73 (14)(a) to prohibit a State
officer or employee from directly supervising a relative in the
performance of his or her official State duties.

Section two provides for an immediate effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Public Officers Law § 73(14)(a) prohibits a statewide elected
official, state officer or employee, member of the Legislature or
              

legislative employee from participating in any decision to promote,
discipline or discharge a relative.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new proposal.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

The new nepotism law fails to recognize that supervision of an
employee plays an important role in the decision to promote,
discipline or discharge all employee. Clearly, the assignment of
tasks, observations and assessments concerning how an individual
performs his/her duties, interpersonal skills, timeliness and the
desire to take on additional responsibilities all derive from the
supervisory relationship.

Leaving the decision to promote, discipline or discharge an individual
to someone who has not had firsthand knowledge of the employee's
performance, however, puts both the employee and the decision-maker at
a significant disadvantage. Moreover, allowing one relative to
supervise another can create animosity and resentment among co-workers
and call into question a supervisor's objectivity when dispensing work
assignments, performance evaluations, etc. A number of states with
nepotism statutes, including Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, Indiana, North
Dakota, and Alaska include supervision among those activities
prohibited by law.

By including supervision among those activities prohibited by the
nepotism statute, questions of preferential treatment on the part of
the supervisor would be eliminated. This proposal would also promote
employment actions which are fair, objective, and based on direct and
meaningful observations of performance.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.