The Office of Special Counsel is seeking the removal of a Department of Veterans Affairs Doctor for an alleged Hatch Act Violation.
It said it filed a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board after finding evidence that a doctor in a VA Medical Center in Illinois “used her authority and influence as a psychiatrist for political purposes and engaged in prohibited political activity in the VA workplace.”
According to OSC, the doctor sent two emails – each with 84 recipients, including VA employees and patients — encouraging colleagues to vote for a particular presidential candidate during the primary phase of the last Presidential election.
Such emails would violate the Hatch Act’s prohibition against using one’s official authority or influence to affect the result of an election and the prohibition against engaging in political activity in a federal building.
