Ohio’s Ethics Law generally prohibits a public official from using their influence to secure authorization of a public contract for the public official’s family. However, the Ohio Ethics Commission has held that a school board member can vote, discuss, deliberate, lobby or otherwise participate in the ratification or rejection of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that affects their family member, so long as the following criteria are met:
-
The CBA affects their family member in the same way as all other employees of the district.
-
The board member’s family member is not a member of the negotiating team.
-
The board member’s family member is not an officer in the union.
-
The board member is not covered under health insurance provided by the CBA. A board member can be covered under the CBA’s health insurance either because the board member has elected health insurance coverage under RC 3313.202 or because the board member is covered by their family member’s district-provided health insurance.
See below for some additional helpful resources from the Ohio Ethics Commission on these restrictions:
-
OEC Opinion 89-005 (school board member voting on spouse’s union contract)
-
OEC Opinion 98-003 (school superintendent with family members working for district)
-
OEC Opinion 2010-03 (nepotism restrictions)