Employment of relatives.

(1) For the purposes of this section, the term:

(a) “Department” means the Department of Corrections.

(b) “Relative” means an individual who is related to another as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.

(c) “Organizational unit” includes:

1. A unit of a state correctional institution such as security, medical, dental, classification, maintenance, personnel, or business. A work camp, boot camp, or other annex of a state correctional institution is considered part of the institution and not a separate unit.

2. An area of a regional office such as personnel, medical, administrative services, probation and parole, or community facilities.

3. A correctional work center, road prison, or work release center.

4. A probation and parole circuit office or a suboffice within a circuit.

5. A bureau of the Office of the Secretary or of any of the assistant secretaries.

(d) “Line of authority” means any position having supervisory authority within the direct chain of command or supervisory path that organizationally links any position in the department to the secretary.

(e) “Direct supervision” means being an employee’s immediate supervisor, or the rater or reviewer of the employee’s performance.

(2) In the interest of security and effective management, the department may adopt rules prohibiting the employment of relatives in the same organizational unit or in positions in which one employee would be in the line of authority over the other or under the direct supervision of the other.