The Office of Special Counsel — enforcer of the Hatch Act ‘s prohibition against partisan activity while on the job — has toughened its stance on using government email to engage in political activity.
Previously its stance was that sending a couple emails here and there to a coworker expressing political views was ok because it amounted to water cooler chatter and not active politicking, but citing four decisions the Merit Systems Protection Board issued last year, it is now taking an absolutist stance.
It has removed an advisory that stated the equivalent of water-cooler conversation is passable under the Hatch Act, and under which the defendants in the MSPB cases argued their emails were not in violation.
In one case the MSPB upheld the suspension of a defendant that had sent a group email with an attachment promoting a Halloween party that doubled as a rally for a congressional candidate.
Another case dealt with sending propaganda designed to influence the reader’s choice for president leading up to the 2004 elections. MSPB decided disciplinary action was warranted.
Another decision upheld the dismissal of a federal employee and elected official of the California Green party who had sent numerous emails from his government computer aimed at the success of the Green party including outreach and fund raising.
"The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from sending e-mails that advocate for a political party or candidate for partisan public office while on duty or in a federal building, and engaging in such activity may subject them to disciplinary action, including the loss of their job," special counsel Scott Bloch said, adding, "No political activity means no political activity, regardless of the specific technology used."
