Overview of the HATCH ACT:

1

• Overview of the HATCH ACT
• Political Activity
• and the
• Postal Employee
• USPS Law Department
• 2004

2
HATCH ACT

• The Hatch Act is a federal law that restricts
  the political activity of federal and postal
  employees.
• Employees are covered by the Hatch Act
  restrictions even while off duty.
• 5 USC 7321-7326 (also 5 CFR parts 733-734)

3
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION

• Why do you need to know about this?
• The penalties for violating the Hatch Act are
  serious.

4
PENALITIES FOR VIOLATION

• An employee who is shown to have violated the
  Hatch Act may, by order of the Merit Systems
  Protection Board, be removed from his/her postal
  position, or suspended for a minimum of 30 days.

5
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DOs

• Postal employees may
• Be candidates for public office in non-partisan
  elections
• Take an active role in managing the political
  campaign of a partisan candidate (but certain
  fundraising and solicitation prohibitions apply)
• Attend political fundraising functions (in
  employees personal capacity)

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POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DOs

• Postal employees may also
• Attend political fundraising functions (in
  personal capacity)
• Contribute personal funds to political
  organizations and campaigns
• Assist in voter registration drives
• Sign nominating petitions
• Hold office in political clubs or parties

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POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DONTs

• Postal employees may not
• Be candidates for public office in partisan
  elections
• Engage in political activity while on duty, or in
  any government office, or while wearing an
  official uniform, or while using a government
  vehicle
• Wear political buttons on duty
• Display political bumper stickers on official
  vehicles or while using a POV as an official
  postal vehicle

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POLITICAL ACTIVITIES DONTs

• Postal employees also may not
• Personally solicit political contributions from
  any person, make speeches to solicit such
  contributions, or host fundraising events
• Collect or receive political contributions,
  unless both collector and donor are members of
  the same federal labor organization, and the one
  solicited is not a subordinate

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HATCH ACT QA

• Question At what point am I considered to be a
  candidate for public office?
• Answer Earlier than you might think
• When you begin to fundraise
• When you make an announcement to the media
• When you begin to collect signatures for a
  nominating petition
• When you file nominating petitions
• When you assemble a campaign committee

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HATCH ACT QA

• Question May I make a contribution to the
  campaign of a partisan candidate, or to a
  political party or organization?
• Answer Yes. You may contribute personal funds
  to the campaign of a partisan candidate, or to a
  political party or organization.

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HATCH ACT QA

• Question I have a Bush 2004 bumper sticker on
  my personal vehicle. Can I park it in a postal
  lot or garage, or in a private lot/garage where
  the USPS subsidizes my parking fees?
• Answer Yes. You may park your privately owned
  vehicle with its partisan bumper sticker in a
  postal or private lot or garage. However, if you
  use your vehicle to perform official postal
  duties, avoid affixing partisan stickers to it.

12
HATCH ACT QA

• Question May I help organize a political
  fundraiser?
• Answer You may organize a political fundraiser
  in your personal capacity, including supplying
  names for the invitation list, as long as you do
  not personally solicit, accept, or receive
  contributions.

13
HATCH ACT QA

• Question Can my name appear on invitations to a
  political fundraiser as a sponsor or point of
  contact?
• Answer No. Your name may not be shown as a
  sponsor or point of contact on an invitation to
  such a fundraiser, or on any materials
  publicizing or promoting the fundraiser.

14
HATCH ACT QA

• Question May I speak at a political fundraiser?
• Answer Yes, in your personal capacity. You may
  give a speech or keynote address at a political
  fundraiser, as long as you are not on duty, not
  in uniform, and you do not solicit or encourage
  political contributions.

15
HATCH ACT QA

• Question If I agree to be a speaker at a
  political fundraiser, what information about me
  can be printed on the invitations?
• Answer You may be listed as a guest speaker.
  However, the reference should not in any way
  suggest that you are soliciting or encouraging
  contributions, and may not include your official
  title or the fact that you work for the Postal
  Service.

16
HATCH ACT QA

• Question May I attend a state or national party
  convention? If so, in what capacity?
• Answer Yes. You may serve as a delegate,
  alternate, or proxy to a state or national party
  convention. Because you may not be a candidate
  in a partisan race, be it local, state, or
  national, you may not attend a convention in this
  capacity.

17
HATCH ACT QA

• Question If I run as a candidate for public
  office in a nonpartisan election, does the Hatch
  Act allow me to ask for and accept political
  contributions?
• Answer As a candidate for public office in a
  nonpartisan election, you will not be barred by
  the Hatch Act from soliciting, accepting, or
  receiving political contributions for your own
  campaign.

18
HATCH ACT QA

• Question May I distribute brochures for a
  political party to people arriving at a polling
  place on Election Day?
• Answer Yes. You may, on your own time and out
  of uniform, stand outside a polling place on
  Election Day and hand out brochures on behalf of
  a partisan political candidate or political
  party.

19
HATCH ACT QA

• Question I am a Temporary Rural Carrier for the
  Postal Service. May I run for public office in a
  partisan election?
• Answer No. The Civil Service Commission has
  long held that temporary, part-time, and
  emergency employees are subject to the Hatch
  Act. While you are a postal employee, you may
  run for office only in a nonpartisan election.

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ENFORCEMENT OF THE HATCH ACT

• The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an
  independent federal agency, is responsible for
  enforcement of the Hatch Act.
• Allegations of Hatch Act violations by postal
  employees that come to the Law Departments
  attention are typically forwarded to OSC.

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HATCH ACT INFORMATION RESOURCES

• The OSC website is a good source of information
  about Hatch Act restrictions
• www.osc.gov/hatchact.htm
• Find more information on the General Counsel
  portion of the postal intranet site by following
  the Ethics links
• http//blue.usps.gov/uspslaw/

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HATCH ACT INFORMATION POSTAL RESOURCES

• Advice regarding political activities may be
  sought from
• Your Area Law Office
• or
• HQ ethics advisors
• [phone] (Ethics Helpline) or
• email Ethics Help (internal) and
  ethics.help_at_usps.gov (external).