Nepotism question

[Jdub07]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

My husband works for a company who claims to be family oriented. I have applied for several jobs there that have fit my qualifications but they always cite their nepotism policy as reason for not hiring me. The positions I have applied for are in a different town than my husband works in, and our paths would never cross. I know of two different married couples (I'm sure there are more, but I personally know two) that both of them work for the company. They claim that they were "grandfathered" in because the husbands originally worked for a different company that was bought out by the current company.

Recently, a friend of mine was working for a temp agency and was doing temp work at my husbands company (her husband works there too), she wasn't working in the same area as him, but she got fired when they realized that her husband works there.

How is it legal for some couples to work together but not others?

 

[cbg]

With a few exceptions relating to public office, there are no laws on the subject of nepotism. An employer is free to set up their own rules on the subject. There is nothing illegal about grandfathering couples who were already working there when the policy was put into place.

In other words, it's legal because there isn't any law that says it's not.

 

[latigo]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

My husband works for a company who claims to be family oriented. I have applied for several jobs there that have fit my qualifications but they always cite their nepotism policy as reason for not hiring me. The positions I have applied for are in a different town than my husband works in, and our paths would never cross. I know of two different married couples (I'm sure there are more, but I personally know two) that both of them work for the company. They claim that they were "grandfathered" in because the husbands originally worked for a different company that was bought out by the current company.

Recently, a friend of mine was working for a temp agency and was doing temp work at my husbands company (her husband works there too), she wasn't working in the same area as him, but she got fired when they realized that her husband works there.

How is it legal for some couples to work together but not others?

Sad isn't it? But then I know of several married couples that can't work together, legally or illegally. In fact they can't abide speaking to one another and have to communicate by leaving little sticky notes.

In the tragic example you've mentioned maybe the wife was leaving too many of the "stickies" pasted around the work place. Could happen.

If any other earth shaking calamities start troubling you, please keep us posted.

.

 

[commentator]

A clear cut case of a person laboring under the delusion that the workplace has many more laws and regulations, that there is some requirement that it be fair and reasonable, etc. As cbg says, they can do pretty much anything they want to, including put all their family members on the payroll, decide to make up strange policies concerning nepotism and basically anything else that does not reach over into an EEOC protected area. They're just telling you that they won't let you work there, citing some "nepotism" rule, but in reality they just didn't want to hire you. Which is totally their right to do. And if they want to make exceptions to their own rule, they can. No "legality" involved here.