Dive Summary:

• The U.S. Energy Department’s inspector general released a report last week which found that nepotism in the department was an “open and widely accepted” practice resulting in the hiring of many relatives.
• One senior Energy Department official hired his college-aged children for internships within the department. Two of the kids worked under their father at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. But will this practice hurt the DOE? The DOE inspector general thinks so.
• “Nepotism or even its appearance can have a decidedly negative impact on morale within an organization,” the report puts forth. “As is readily apparent, providing inappropriate advantages for relatives of Federal employees damages the integrity of the competitive process and erodes public trust in the Federal hiring process.”

From the article:

“…the senior level official told investigators that he believed it was common practice for DOE officials to provide resumes or inquire about getting an internship within the department on behalf of relatives. More importantly, investigators were told by various other DOE officials that this was the case.”