East Carolina University Faculty Manual

PART VI.

GENERAL PERSONNEL POLICIES

IV. Employment of Related Persons (Formerly Appendix H)

A. Basic Principles

Consistent with the principle that university employees and prospective employees shall be evaluated on the basis of individual merit, without reference to considerations of race, sex, religion or national origin, or any other factors not involving personal professional qualifications and performance, the following restrictions, designed to avoid the possibility of favoritism based on family or personal relationship, shall be observed with respect to institutional personnel who are not subject to the State Personnel Act:

1. Related persons shall not serve concurrently within the institution in any case where one such related person would occupy a position having responsibility for the direct supervision of the other related person.

2. With respect to proposed employment decisions which would result in the concurrent service of related persons within the same academic department (or other comparable institutional subdivision of employment), a person related to an incumbent employee may not be employed if the professional qualifications of other candidates for the available position are demonstrably superior to those of the related person.

3. With respect to the concurrent service of related persons within the same academic department (or other comparable institutional subdivision of employment), neither related person shall be permitted, either individually or as a member of a faculty, or as a member of a committee of a faculty, to participate in the evaluation of the other related person.

B. Definition of "Related Persons"

The following relationships are sufficiently immediate to invoke the prohibitions against concurrent service of related persons:

1) Parent and child; 2) Brothers and sisters; 3) Grandparent and grandchild; 4) Aunt and/or uncle and niece and/or nephew: 5) First cousins; 6) Step‑parent and step‑child: 7) Step‑brothers and step‑sisters; 8) Husband and wife; 9) Parents‑in‑law and children‑in‑law; 10) Brothers‑in‑law and sisters‑in‑law; 11) Guardian and ward; 12) Persons engaged in amorous relationships; an amorous relationship exists when, without the benefit of marriage, two persons voluntarily have a sexual union or are engaged in a romantic courtship (e.g. dating or engaged to be married) that may or may not have been consummated sexually.

C. Effective Date

The provisions of this policy shall be applicable prospectively only, with reference to appointments made after the adoption date of the policy.

D. Employees Subject to the State Personnel Act

With respect to university employees who are subject to the State Personnel Act (SPA), applicable restrictions concerning the concurrent service of related persons shall be those adopted by the state personnel board.

E. Each chancellor shall report annually to the board of trustees, at the regular meeting falling closest to the date of commencement, concerning all specific cases during the preceding year in which the terms of this policy were applied.

(Administrative Memorandum #360, 18 March 1996, UNC Board of Governors)