Nepotism in Metro Atlanta

Nepotism is a difficult topic to get a hold of. It is the most generally accepted kind of ethical misconduct, most governments do not keep records (or, at least, public records) of familial relationships, and nepotism provisions are rarely enforced. For all of these reasons, the news media do not give nepotism much coverage. So in many governments, especially those with poor ethics environments, nepotism is common.

Kudos go to David Wickert of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for doing an investigative piece last weekend about nepotism in the metropolitan Atlanta area (Disclosure: I was interviewed for the article, and I am quoted in it).

Wickert writes, "In the last three years alone, five area city and county governments hired at least 770 relatives of current employees. Those hires took place as thousands of metro residents struggled to find work, raising questions about whether family ties trump good government."

And that's just the last three years. "About 1,700 employees of six governments examined appear to live together, judging by home addresses; most share the same last names."

These numbers are certainly low, because it is difficult to know who is related to whom, and "No one consistently tracks" family ties. And yet it is very easy to do this. New employees need only be asked to list the names of their relatives in the government, employees can be required to notify Human Resources if they marry someone or otherwise become closely related to someone by marriage or co-habitation, and Human Resources can keep a list of these familial relationships and provide it to the local ethics commission, if there is one.

What makes this article truly special is that Wickert shows the many consequences of nepotism. The consequences of ethical misconduct are often overlooked, because they don't have dollar amounts. Here are a few of them that go beyond what I say in my book Local Government Ethics Programs.

"Complaints of nepotism were among a host of problems that led the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to suspend the accreditation of the Clayton and DeKalb school districts in recent years. Experts say nepotism can cheat taxpayers of the most qualified employees. It also has other hidden costs. It can create discipline problems, damage morale of other workers and lead to conflicts of interest. It can even open the door to fraud by breaking down checks and balances. Even the appearance of family favoritism, the experts say, is enough to tarnish a government’s credibility and warp how employees make decisions."

"Government policies on posting jobs also may give the edge to insiders. Many openings are posted only on local governments’ own websites.

Atlanta council member Michael Julian Bond points to another problem that arises from nepotism: He is quoted as saying, "I don’t want someone trying to hire someone related to me thinking they will have greater sway over me." A government agency or a restricted source knows that hiring a relative is an effective way to get on a high-level official's good side. The official doesn't have to say a word. Everybody knows, at least as long as high-level officials have allowed nepotism, both within government and between government and restricted sources, to be legal. In fact, the hiring of high-level officials' relatives is an important form of pay to play.

As I am quoted in the article as saying, “The ramifications [of nepotism] are huge, and you never actually see many of them because it’s about what doesn’t happen." What doesn't happen is the many people who don't apply for jobs or who leave public service due to the positive preferential treatment that is given to officials' relatives, which means negative preferential treatment toward them.

Wickert also looks at the ways in which nepotism can be prevented, and the things people say in defense of their relationships with employees.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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