(A) Divisions (B) through (E) below shall continue to apply to all individuals employed by the city on or before July 1, 2012, unless the individual has a break in employment with the city. The following are not considered a break in employment with the city:
(1) The individual is absent from the workplace while on paid or unpaid leave, including vacation, sick, or family medical leave, or worker’s compensation.
(2) The individual’s employment with the city is terminated following by immediate reemployment by the city, without loss of payroll time.
(B) No family member of a public official may be employed in the same department of the public official if that public official has direct and/or immediate supervisory responsibility for hiring, firing, promotion, or other disciplinary actions with regard to the employee unless the department has policies, procedures and/or collective bargaining agreements in place which provide for the recusal of the public official in matters related to hiring, firing, promotion or other disciplinary actions with regard to the employee so as to avoid nepotism.
(C) Family members of public officials who are attending secondary or post-secondary school on a full-time basis may be employed for summer vacation or other vacation employment with the city so long as the employment is not under the direct and/or immediate supervision of the public official and further provided that the potential employees shall be considered, based upon his or her qualifications, along with any other applicants for a position or opening.
(D) No public official shall appoint a person to any position when the public official is a principal or officer of an organization where the person is also an employee, shareholder, officer, or director of the same organization. This prohibition shall not apply to any not-for-profit organizations or similar entities where neither the public official nor the person being considered for appointment receives any remuneration from the not-for-profit organization.
(E) To the extent there are family members of a public official currently employed by the city and this employment may be in conflict with the provisions of this section, their employment (in their current positions) shall be grandfathered and excluded from the limitations and prohibitions contained in this section.
(F) Divisions (G) through (L) shall apply beginning on July 1, 2012, and shall apply to all individuals beginning their employment with the city after July 1, 2012, and all individuals employed with the city on or before to July 1, 2012, that have experienced a break in employment with the city as described above subsequent to July 1, 2012.
(G) Individuals who are relatives may not be employed by the city in a position that results in one relative being in the direct line of supervision of the other relative.
(H) A precinct election officer (as defined in I.C. 3-5-2-40.1) that are imposed by I.C. 3 or a volunteer firefighter are not considered employment by the city.
(I) If an individual is employed by the city on the date the individual’s relative begins serving a term of elected office of the city and is not otherwise exempt from the application of divisions (G) through (L), an individual may remain employed by the city and maintain the individual's position or rank even if the individual's employment would violate division (G) above.
(J) An individual described in division (H) may not be promoted to a position or 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 division (G).
(K) These requirements do not abrogate or affect an employment contract with the city that an individual is a party to and is in effect on the date the individual's relative begins serving a term of an elected office of the city.
(L) Each elected officer of the city shall annually certify in writing, subject to the penalties of perjury, that the officer has not violated this chapter. An officer shall submit the certification to the executive of the unit no later than December 31 of each year.
(Ord. 37-2005, passed 9-11-06; Am. Ord. 18-2011, passed 6-13-11; Am. Ord. 16, 2012, passed 6-25-12)