Two weeks after the arrest of a former St. Edward’s University police officer, the university has made changes to its nepotism policy that would prohibit the hiring of relatives within the University Police Department and other key areas of campus.

Haven Street-Allen, director of Human Resources, said the changes, which are now in effect, were not related to the arrest on Feb. 9 of former UPD officer Brandon Gilroy, whose parents also work for UPD.

Instead, she said, they were made to bring the university’s position on nepotism in line with its Consensual Relationship Policy, which was adopted 18 months ago and addresses romantic relationships between faculty and students.

“The change to the nepotism policy to limit employment of relatives of employees in specific work areas has nothing to do with the fact that there are or have been relatives working in the same department,” said Street-Allen.

She added that “the nepotism policy has a similar thrust as the consensual relationship policy and needed some updating to better align with the more recently developed policy.”

The new nepotism policy, announced Feb. 22, states that the university will not hire relatives of employees who work in Human Resources, Payroll, Accounts Payable and UPD to any position at the university.

Other departments are strongly discouraged from hiring relatives. Supervisors in departments other than the four mentioned above who have relatives seeking employment in the same department must submit a written report to the appropriate senior vice president explaining why the relationship will not be a conflict or result in negative repercussions.

The focus on H.R., Payroll, Accounts Payable and UPD is intended to limit potential conflicts-of-interest and favoritism in departments where employees can wield particular types of influence. For instance, Street-Allen said, a payroll worker could, theoretically, issue extra checks to a favored relative.

“As H.R. director, if my son worked in the university, there would be some people who would wonder if I exerted my influence to see he got preferential treatment or if someone provided him preferential treatment because they thought it might help them win favor in H.R.,” Street-Allen said

The last update made to the nepotism policy was about five years ago, she said.

The new policy is not retroactive and so does not affect relatives currently at work at St. Edward’s.

UPD Chief Rudolph Rendon declined to comment on the policy changes.

 

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