'Putting it in writing': New nepotism, personal relationship policy approved by Personnel Board
If approved by the city council, the policy would update the rules and reporting procedures for romantic relationships and nepotism among city employees.
If approved by the city council, the policy would update the rules and reporting procedures for romantic relationships and nepotism among city employees.
If approved by the city council, the policy would update the rules and reporting procedures for romantic relationships and nepotism among city employees.
A proposed city-wide policy would update the rules and reporting procedures for romantic relationships and nepotism among city employees.
Omaha's Deputy Attorney said the Mayor is in favor of having a policy of this nature. It was approved Thursday by Omaha's personnel board, and will now go in front of the city council.
According to Omaha's Human Resources Director, Deb Sander, the purpose of the policy is not to force people to disclose every date they go on, but to ensure people in relationships or family members do not report directly to one another.
"We don't ever want there to be any conflict and I think we just wanted to clarify that for everyone across the city," Sander said. "Informally, we've done it for years and years. It's just that we're putting it in writing."
Omaha Deputy Attorney Bernard in den Bosch said on top of standardizing policies across the city, the new policy updates terminology about personal relationships.
"In a way, we would have probably been nice to have one before. the reality is, you know, as you continue to look, you continue to update," said in den Bosch, adding this policy has been years in the making. "I think there's a lot of things in this policy that are already common sense that have already occurred just naturally."
The policy defines “dating” as: “casual dating, serious dating, casual sexual involvement where the employee has no intention of carrying a long-term relationship, cohabitation and any other conduct or behavior normally associated with romantic or sexual relationships. This definition applies regardless of the sexual orientation or gender of the employees involved.”
As for working with relatives, the policy, Sander said, is not meant to discourage city employment as a family business, but to outline reporting processes and prohibit people from supervising their relatives or partners.
"For years and years, we've always hired sons, daughters, relatives. I mean, one of our biggest recruiting tools is city employees," said Sander, who expects the city council to approve the policy.