CONCORD - House Speaker William O'Brien wants state department heads to report whether they have family members working in their department.

“The recent reports of nepotism validate the underlying belief of many that government is corrupt and geared toward enriching those who hold power,” O'Brien, R-Mont Vernon, wrote in a letter sent Monday to all commissioners.

“The furtherance of this presumption through the acts of high-ranking state leaders is corrosive to public confidence and is something that we all have a vested interest in eliminating as quickly as possible.”

Last week, Department of Employment Security Commissioner Tara Reardon resigned and Deputy Commissioner Darrell Gates was suspended following allegations they had agency personnel hire their daughters and then ordered the two laid off so they would be eligible to collect unemployment benefits.

Reardon's daughter was a part-time summer intern in 2011, while Gates' daughter held a part-time department position for two years until last summer.

Reardon resigned affective Aug. 31 and is on paid administrative leave until that date. Under the state personnel rules, Gates has been suspended for 30 days, but the suspension can be renewed for another 30 days. He was suspended by Gov. John Lynch with pay.

In a statement released when she resigned, Reardon blamed disgruntled employees who “waged a continuous effort to create divisions within the department and undermine my leadership.” “They have distorted the truth and fabricated a story to cover their own failure to do their jobs in a professional and competent manner,” she wrote.

Gates has not responded to attempts to reach him.

The Attorney General's Office began an investigation into the matter several weeks after the whistleblower complaint was filed in January and later presented a case to a Merrimack County grand jury.

Lynch has called the allegations very, very serious and said Reardon did the right thing in resigning. He called the allegations against Gates serious enough to warrant the suspension.

Lynch press secretary Colin Manning said Tuesday the governor's office had not seen the letter sent to department heads, so he could not comment.

In his letter, O'Brien asks the department heads to report in writing the name, position and date of hire of any family member in his or her department by July 30. The information would go to the chairmen of the House Finance and House Executive Department and Administration committees and the speaker.

“Through this process we will be able to identify for many outraged representatives and their constituents if the issue of nepotism is, in fact, widespread, or if this was an isolated occurrence by leaders of a rogue agency,” O'Brien said. “In any event, it will allow the Legislature to make informed policy decisions in the future.”

Along with the letter, O'Brien included a copy of a 2008 Executive Branch Ethics Committee advisory opinion about department heads employing family members.

The opinion states department heads should recuse themselves from any involvement in the decisions of hiring, supervision or termination.

O'Brien's letter was sent the same day George Copadis of Manchester was sworn in as the acting commissioner of the Department of Employment Services.

He has agreed to fill the post for six months or until his successor is appointed.

Copadis would then return to his post as Department of Labor commissioner.

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Garry Rayno may be reached at grayno@unionleader.com.