The Federal Anti-Nepotism Statute: Limits on Appointing, Hiring, and Promoting Relatives. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress & Analysis, Legal Sidebar. December 01,2016.
The process of presidential transition has raised questions about who may be appointed to certain executive posts in the White House, an issue addressed under a federal law commonly known as the anti-nepotism statute. Nepotism is defined generally as the exercise of favoritism by a person in a position of authority towards that person’s relatives, particularly giving them jobs. The federal anti-nepotism statute applies to all public officials (including the President and Members of Congress) in all three branches of the federal government. Such officials are barred from appointing, hiring, or promoting – or advocating for the appointment, hiring, or promotion of – a specific class of relatives to a civilian position in the agency in which that official serves or over which the official exercises authority.
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