COMDTINST 12310.3A
b.
Supervisors and other management officials shall familiarize themselves with this
Instruction and comply with its provisions.
8.
RESTRICTIONS.
a.
On Advocacy.
(1) A public official in the Coast Guard shall not advocate the appointment, employment,
promotion, or advancement of a relative in or to a civilian position anywhere in the
agency where that official exercises any jurisdiction or control. A public official
advocates appointment if the appointment action is recommended or suggested, either
orally or in writing. Also, a public official advocates selection if a relative is referred
for consideration to one of the official's subordinates, i.e., to someone lower in the
chain of command. A referral for consideration, in this context, is any action, even
though short of an actual recommendation, that reveals an interest in securing or
facilitating a person's consideration for appointment, employment, promotion, or
advancement. (Examples of referrals are the transmittal of applications to personnel
or line officials, or providing a letter of introduction. However, merely depositing an
application in the "incoming box" of a personnel office in an anonymous fashion is
not a "referral" in this sense.)
(2) A public official may reply to an appropriate inquiry about the suitability or
qualifications of a relative who has applied for employment within the DOT.
However, a public official must not respond to any inquiry or question which requests
or would indicate a recommendation or advocacy for employment. (For example, an
official should decline to answer, on the grounds that it would constitute a violation
on advocacy restrictions, a question such as, "Would you recommend this person for
employment in DOT?")
(3) While a public official may respond to an inquiry as discussed in paragraph 8.a.(2), he
or she may not be in a position as supervisor of a relative, responsible for evaluating
or appraising the performance of the subordinate or of reviewing or approving any
such appraisal.
b.
On Personnel Actions.
(1) A public official (military or civilian) in the Coast Guard shall not appoint, employ,
promote, or advance in or to a DOT civilian position: (a) one of his or her relatives,
or (b) the relative of any other public official in the agency if that official has
recommended or advocated the action. Additionally, a personnel or placement
official may not use his or her authority to appoint or advance the employment of a
relative of any official within the chain of command.
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