Former California official target of nepotism investigation

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A state auditor report accuses a former California labor official of gross misconduct by making improper personnel decisions to benefit her daughter.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Christine Baker, who resigned last year as director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, allegedly used her influence to have her daughter Julianna Baker hired and promoted into positions she didn’t qualify for.

The auditor’s report said the daughter was paid $129,000 for much of 2015 through 2017 for work she didn’t perform. During this period, she worked from home for a department headed by Baker’s brother.

Baker told the newspaper “most (of the report) is untrue.” She couldn’t elaborate because of a pending lawsuit by a former employee who claims she was fired because she cooperated with an investigation into alleged nepotism.