(A) Adoption. Pursuant to I.C. 36-1-20.2, the Town Council hereby adopts the following anti- nepotism ordinance regarding the employment of relatives.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DIRECT LINE OF SUPERVISION. An elected officer or employee who is in a position to affect the terms and conditions of another individual’s employment, including making decisions about work assignments, compensation, grievances, advancement, or performance evaluation. The term does not include the responsibilities of the executive, legislative body, or fiscal body of a town, as provided by law, to make decisions regarding salary ordinances, budgets, or personnel policies of the town.
EMPLOYED. An individual who is employed by the town on a full-time, part-time, temporary, intermittent, or hourly basis. The term does not include an individual who holds only an elected office. The term includes an individual who is a party to an employment contract with the town.
MEMBER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. The fire chief or a firefighter appointed to the department.
MEMBER OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. The police chief or a police officer appointed to the department.
RELATIVE.
(a) Any of the following:
1. A spouse;
2. A parent or stepparent;
3. A child or stepchild;
4. A brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister;
5. A niece or nephew;
6. An aunt or uncle; or
7. A daughter-in-law or son-in-law.
(b) An adopted child of an individual is treated as a natural child of the individual.
(c) The terms BROTHER and SISTER include a brother or sister by the half blood.
(C) Exclusions.
(1) An individual who is employed by the town on July 1, 2012 is not subject to these policies unless the individual has a break in employment with the town. Breaks in employment do not include the following:
(a) The individual is absent from the workplace while on paid or unpaid leave, including vacation, sick, or family medical leave, or worker’s compensation.
(b) The individual’s employment with the town is terminated followed by immediate reemployment by the town, without loss of payroll time.
(2) These policies do not apply to performance of duties as a:
(a) Precinct election officer as defined in I.C. 3-5-2-40.1; or
(b) Volunteer firefighter.
(3) This statute does not abrogate or affect an employment contract with the town that:
(a) An individual is a party to; and
(b) Is in effect on the date the individual’s relative begins serving a term of an elected office of the town.
(D) Employment of relatives.
(1) Individuals who are relatives may not be employed by the town in a position that results in one relative being in the direct line of supervision of the other relative.
(2) With regard to an individual who:
(a) Is employed by the town on the date the individual’s relative begins serving a term of an elected office of the town; and
(b) Is not exempt from the application of this statute;
an individual may remain employed by the town and maintain the individual’s position or rank even if the individual’s employment would violate the prohibition against one relative being in the direct line of supervision of the other relative. This individual may not: (I) be promoted to a position or (ii) be promoted to a position that is not within the merit ranks in the case of an individual who is a member of a merit police department or merit fire department, if the new position would violate the prohibition against one relative being in the direct line of supervision of the other relative.
(3) A sheriff’s spouse may be employed as prison matron for the county under I.C. 36-8-10-5 and the spouse may be in the sheriff’s direct line of supervision.
(4) An individual may be hired in the position of deputy coroner and be in the coroner’s direct line of supervision, if that individual is one:
(a) Who served as coroner;
(b) Who is currently ineligible to serve as coroner under Article 6, Section 2(b) of the Constitution of the State of Indiana;
(c) Who, as coroner, received certification under I.C. 36-2-14-22.3; and
(d) Whose successor in the office of coroner is a relative of the individual.
(5) If a township trustee’s office is located in the township trustee’s personal residence, the township trustee may hire only one employee who is a relative. The employee:
(a) May be hired to work only in the township trustee’s office;
(b) May be in the township trustee’s direct line of supervision; and
(c) May not receive total salary, benefits, and compensation that exceed $5,000 per year.
(E) Certification requirement. Each elected officer of the town must annually certify in writing, subject to the penalties for perjury, that the officer has not violated this statute. Each officer must submit the certification to the executive of the town not later than December 31 of each year.
(Ord. 2012-07, passed 6-19-12) Penalty, see § 10.99