Feds Warned Not to Tweet Political Views on the Job

If federal employees want to tell the world they #FeeltheBern or #StandWithRand or are ready to put it in #CruzControl, they are welcome to do so. Just not while they are on the clock.

Such is the message from the Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency with oversight of the Hatch Act. OSC issued new guidance on Thursday to help feds steer clear of any violations of the decades old law that prohibits executive branch workers from engaging in political activity.

The Hatch Act, OSC said, prohibits federal employees from conducting any political activity on Facebook or Twitter while on duty or in the workplace. Even when they are off the clock, feds cannot post something supporting a candidate or partisan cause while mentioning their official title (though if their position is listed on their Facebook page in general, it does not prevent the employee from posting something political).

Here is a list of other dos and don’ts for federal employees, from OSC:

Do: Accept an invitation to a political fundraising event on Facebook or Twitter while not on the job.

Don’t: Like, share or retweet a link -- at any time -- to a political fundraising event.

Do: Engage in political activity (while off the clock, of course) on Facebook or Twitter when “friends” or “followers” are subordinate employees.

Don’t: Post something political specifically on the page of a subordinate employee.

Do: Friend, like or follow a partisan group or candidate’s social media page, provided the federal employee does so while not working.

Don’t: Delete a post on their social media page because it solicits a donation to a politician. Feds are not held responsible for third party posts, even when the posts appear on their social media page.

Do: Fill out the political view field on Facebook and other sites, even if they have listed their official title.

Do: Have a political party or campaign logo as a profile picture.

Don’t: Post, share, tweet or retweet anything while on duty, if such a logo is their profile picture. Each action would show their support for the candidate, OSC said, “even if the content of the action is not about those entities.”

Do: Receive a partisan political email while at work.

Don’t: Send or forward a partisan political email while at work, even if the email comes from a personal account.

Do: Send emails, while on duty, about non-partisan political activity, such as referendum matters, constitutional amendments, pending legislation or other matters of the public interest.

Don’t: Send or forward a partisan political email to a subordinate at any time. 

(Image via Askpdesigns / Shutterstock.com)