When the boss marries a subordinate Ethics Moment February 2007
As the city’s (population 25,000) Public Safety Director, you are charged with overseeing the police and fire departments—frequently not an easy job. Nonetheless, you take your job seriously and are constantly concerned about working conditions and equity among the city’s 50 police officers and 30 firefighters. Alas, you meet and fall in love with one of your female police officers, let’s call her Irene, and in time, enter marital bliss. Your wife does not report directly to you but you do have responsibility for signing off on her annual evaluation.
While you do not believe you are treating your officer-wife any differently than other patrol officers in the police department, not everyone agrees. In fact, one of her male colleagues, let’s call him Officer Stone, complained via email several times to her supervisor, Lt. Jones, that your officer-wife, Irene, was receiving preferential treatment. Lt. Jones listened carefully to Officer Stone and eventually brought his complaint to your attention. Somewhat dismayed and convinced that you have done nothing wrong, you feel that Officer Stone is merely stirring up trouble and spreading malicious rumors. Consequently, you reprimand him for unprofessional behavior.
Frustrated, Officer Stone shares his concerns and discontent with his wife, Karen, who decides to take things into her own hands. “I can’t take it any more,” she exclaims. “I am going to write an anonymous letter to the press and community groups about the mis-management and low morale of the department that the Public Safety Director has caused.” In the letter, Karen also charges that your marriage to Officer Irene is illegal as she had unlawfully divorced her husband from a previous marriage.
The letter prompts you to investigate the situation—who wrote it? Officer Stone? Someone else? You bring the matter to the county prosecutor. He tells you that no law has been violated and he therefore will not investigate. Nonetheless, you want to get to the bottom of this and order the police chief to conduct an internal investigation. The investigation proceeds. The Chief reports to you that Officer Stone did not write the letter but that he knew his wife had sent the letter.
The city’s personnel policies do not prohibit fraternization among employees, although relatives of the city manager and city council are prohibited from working for the city.
Questions:
1. What would you do next? Would you reprimand Officer Stone once more? Would you fire him for not being forthcoming about your wife’s letter writing? Would you send him to counseling? Would you demand a public apology from Officer Stone’s wife? Is doing nothing an option?
2. Who would you consult?
3. If you decide to fire him, is there an ethical issue? Have the personal and professional within you collided? How would you rationalize the decision?
4. What would you expect ex-officer Stone to do?
Source: Based on a real case. The outcome is reported in the
Dayton Daily News,