The energy-corrected transition rates for y decay of the n-capture states in ' Er and ' 'Hf are calculated from data available in the literature. If one assumes that the capture states have good K values, the data reveal a significantly lower average transition rate when the normal E-selection rules are broken than for K-allowed transitions. The efFect is more profound in the data from thermal neutron capture than in the data from 2 keV neutron capture.PACS number(s): 23.20.Lv, 05.45. +b, 21.10.k, 27.70.+ q