Employees punished for political activity

Two federal employees have been punished for violating the law that restricts government workers from participating in certain political activity, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

A National Institutes of Health employee lost her job because she used her government email account to solicit political contributions while on duty, a violation of the Hatch Act. She also invited people, including other NIH employees, to a political fundraiser at her home. In addition, the employee made an online political contribution using her government computer while working in her NIH office.

Federal employees cannot solicit or collect political contributions, although they are permitted to make financial contributions to political campaigns and attend fundraising events while off duty.

In a separate case, a government employee ran for partisan political office in the state of New Jersey. The employee, who worked at the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, ran for the state General Assembly in 2009 and for Rocky Hill Borough Council in 2008. In a settlement with the government, the employee retired in May and is barred from working for any state or local agency in New Jersey for 15 months.

"These cases demonstrate OSC's commitment to protecting the merit system and obtaining disciplinary action for unlawful political activities where it is warranted," said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner in a statement.

OSC and the Merit Systems Protection Board oversee enforcement of the Hatch Act.

The act restricts federal, state and local government employees from activities include running for office in partisan elections or engaging in political actions while on duty or in a government office. Federal workers also cannot solicit or receive political contributions from any person except in certain instances involving labor organizations or employee groups. Federal employees are allowed to run as candidates for office in nonpartisan elections, contribute money to political organizations, and campaign for or against candidates in partisan elections outside of work hours, among other freedoms.

The law provides some allowances for federal workers in Maryland, Virginia and other designated localities to run for partisan political office.

The number of complaints related to inappropriate political activity in the federal workplace increased in fiscal 2010, according to the OSC. Since January, Congress and the Obama administration have been looking more closely at the Hatch Act. Confusion still surrounds the details of the law, which originally was enacted in 1939, and some believe OSC's guidance on it is too ambiguous.