The Postal Service is marking USPS Ethics Awareness Week by reminding employees that nepotism is prohibited in the workplace.

Under federal law, USPS employees cannot hire, promote or advocate for a relative — including a spouse, parent, child, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, in-law, stepparent, stepsibling or half-sibling.

A reporting relationship can also raise ethics concerns. For example, an employee is not permitted to report directly to a spouse.

There is no such prohibition between other relatives, friends or unmarried romantic partners, but to avoid the perception of favoritism, higher-level employees in such reporting relationships should generally recuse themselves from taking actions affecting the private gain of the lower-level employees, such as promotions, overtime, discipline, leave requests, detail assignments or change-of-domicile requests.

Reporting relationships between relatives, friends or romantic partners can affect the workplace environment in ways that go beyond ethics regulations. Human Resources and Labor Relations should always be consulted regarding reporting relationships between people who are related or affiliated outside the workplace.

The Ethics Blue page has additional information.

Employees with questions can email the USPS Ethics Office or call 202-268-6346.