Is Nepotism Illegal in Florida? Rules, Exceptions, and Penalties

Nepotism is illegal in Florida when it happens in government. Section 112.3135 of the Florida Statutes bars public officials from hiring, promoting, advancing, or advocating for a relative within their own agency, and violations can bring civil penalties up to $20,000, salary forfeiture, removal from office, and impeachment. The law does not reach private employers, so a family-owned business in Florida can hire relatives freely under state law.¹

Who Counts as a Relative

The statute spells out exactly which relationships are covered: parents, children, siblings, spouses, in-laws (parents-in-law, siblings-in-law, and children-in-law), uncles, aunts, first cousins, nephews, nieces, stepparents, stepchildren, stepsiblings, and half-siblings. The list is exhaustive. Relationships outside it, such as second cousins or great-aunts, are not restricted.¹

What Public Officials Can’t Do

A public official cannot hire, promote, advance, or advocate for a relative within the official’s own agency. “Advocate” is the word that catches people. An official who never signs the paperwork but lobbies a colleague to bring a relative on board has violated the law all the same.¹

The prohibition runs from the other direction too. A person cannot be hired or promoted within an agency if a relative who is a public official advocated for the decision, or if the decision was made by a collegial body that includes a relative as a member. A city commissioner who sits on a five-member board that votes to hire the commissioner’s sibling has triggered a violation even by abstaining, because the statute looks at the body’s membership, not the individual vote.¹

A “public official” here is anyone with authority to hire, promote, or recommend someone for a position, from the Governor and cabinet members down to a rank-and-file employee who has been delegated hiring authority. Members of boards and commissions who vote on personnel decisions are covered too.¹

Which Government Bodies the Law Covers

The statute reaches state agencies, offices in the legislative and judicial branches, counties, cities, and other political subdivisions. It does not apply to institutions under the Board of Governors of the State University System, to district school boards, or to community college districts.¹

The Two Exceptions

Two narrow situations fall outside the rule. In municipalities with fewer than 35,000 residents, the anti-nepotism restriction does not apply to appointments to boards that lack land-planning or zoning authority. And volunteers who provide emergency medical, firefighting, or police services are exempt, even if they are reimbursed for training costs.¹

There is no grandfather clause for relatives already on the payroll. If a newly elected official takes over an agency where a relative already works, the official is still barred from promoting or advancing that relative.

Penalties

Section 112.317 sets the consequences, and they differ based on the violator’s role.

A public officer can face impeachment, removal from office, suspension, public censure and reprimand, forfeiture of up to one-third of monthly salary for up to 12 months, a civil penalty up to $20,000, and restitution of any financial benefits gained from the violation. The Commission on Ethics can direct that restitution be paid to the officer’s agency or to the state General Revenue Fund.²

A public employee who is not an elected officer but who exercises delegated hiring authority faces a parallel list: dismissal, suspension without pay for up to 90 days, demotion, salary reduction, salary forfeiture, a civil penalty up to $20,000, restitution, and public censure.²

How to Report a Violation

Complaints go to the Florida Commission on Ethics, an independent body created under Article II, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution.³ Anyone can file a sworn complaint, but the filing has to happen within five years of the alleged violation. Once that window closes, the Commission dismisses the complaint automatically.⁴

The Commission investigates, and if it finds probable cause, the case becomes public and either proceeds to a formal hearing or resolves through a negotiated settlement.⁵

Private Employers Are a Different Story

Section 112.3135 applies only to government. Private employers in Florida have no state-law restriction on hiring relatives. One caution worth flagging: a private employer’s anti-nepotism policy can still create legal exposure under federal law if it disproportionately screens out applicants of a particular race, national origin, or other protected class and is not justified by business necessity.⁶

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 112.3135 – Restriction on Employment of Relatives
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 112.317 – Penalties
3
Florida Commission on Ethics. Florida Constitution Article II Section 8 – Ethics in Government
4
Florida Commission on Ethics. Complaints
5
Florida Commission on Ethics. Complaint Procedures
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices