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EDITORIAL To Prevent Pernicious Political Activities: The Hatch Act and Government Ethics When a man assumes a public trust, he should assume himself a public property. Thomas Jefferson1 he impeachment trial has concluded. By Authorized; Prohibitions, 5 USC §7323 (1939). the time you read this editorial, Super Tues- The title of this editorial, “To Prevent Perni- Tday will be over. Then there will be the po- cious Political Activities” is the formal title of litical party conventions, and finally the general the Hatch Act enacted at a time when govern- election. Politics is everywhere and will be for ment legislation was written in more ornamental the rest of 2020. As a preventive ethics measure, rhetoric than the staid language of the current Cynthia M.A. the legal arms of almost every federal agency bureaucratic style. The alliterative title phrase of Geppert, MD, will be sending cautionary e-mails to employees the act is an apt, if dated, encapsulation of the Editor-in-Chief to remind us that any political activity under- legislative intention of the act, which in modern Correspondence: Cynthia Geppert taken must comply with the Hatch Act. Many of parlance: (ethicdoc@ you who have worked in federal health care for The law’s purpose is to ensure that federal comcast.net) some years may have heard a fellow employee programs are administered in a nonpartisan say, “be careful you don’t violate the Hatch Act.” fashion, to protect federal employees from Most readers probably had not heard of the political coercion in the workplace, and to statute before entering federal service. And you ensure that federal employees are advanced may have had an experience similar to mine in based on merit and not based on political my early federal career when through osmosis I affiliation.2 absorbed my peers fear and trembling when the For all its poetic turn of phrase, the title is his- Hatch Act was mentioned. This was the situa- torically accurate. The Hatch Act was passed in tion even though you were not at all sure you response to rampant partisan activity in public understood what the lawyers were warning you office. It was a key part of an effort to profession- not to do. In my decades in federal service, I alize civil service, and as an essential aspect of have heard that the Hatch Act dictates every- that process, to protect federal employees from thing from you cannot vote to you can run for widespread political influence. The ethical prin- political office. ciple behind the legislation is the one that still All this makes the timing right to review a stands as the ideal for federal practitioners: to piece of legislation that governs the political ac- serve the people and act for the good of the pub- tions of every federal health and administrative lic and republic. professional. The Hatch Act sets apart federal The Hatch Act was intended to prevent un- employees from many, if not most, of our ci- scrupulous politicians from intimidating federal vilian counterparts, who, depending on your employees and usurping the machinery of major perspective, have more freedom to express their government agencies to achieve their political political views or are not held to such a high ambitions. Imagine if your supervisor was run- standard of ethical conduct. ning for office or supporting a particular can- In legalese, the Hatch Act is Political Activity didate and ordered you to put a campaign sign CORRECTION In Quach TV, Goldschmidt MH. Evaluating a program process change to improve completion of foot exams and amputation risk assess- ments for veterans with diabetes. Fed Pract. 2019;36(suppl 7):S10-S15. The color labels for Figure 1 were reversed. The blue label should have read “Accurately completed” and the yellow label should have read “Inaccurately completed”. The article has been corrected online. mdedge.com/fedprac MARCH 2020 • FEDERAL PRACTITIONER • 105 EDITORIAL in your yard, attend a political rally, and wear a ning for nonpartisan election and participating campaign button on your lapel or you would in nonpartisan campaigns; voting, and register- be fired. All that and far worse happened in the ing others to vote; you can contribute money to good old USA before the Hatch Act.3 political campaigns, parties, or partisan groups; The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is attend political rallies, meetings and fundraisers; the authoritative guardian of the Hatch Act and even join a political party. Of course these providing opinions on whether an activity is activities must be on your own time and dime, permitted under the act; investigating com- not that of your federal employer. All of these pliance with the provisions of the act; tak- “You Cans” enable a federal employee to engage ing disciplinary action against the employee in the bare minimum of democracy: voting in for serious violations; and prosecuting those elections, but opponents argue they bar the civil violations before the Merit Systems Protection servant from fully participating in the complex Board. Now I understand why the incantation richness of the American political process.7 “Hatch Act” casts a chill on our civil service Nonetheless, since its inception the Hatch souls. While there have been recent allegations Act has been a matter of fierce debate among against a high-profile political appointee, federal federal employees and other advocates of civil practitioners are not immune to prosecution.4 liberties. Those who feel it should be relaxed In 2017, Federal Times reported that the OSC contend that the modern merit-based system of sought disciplinary action against a VA physi- government service has rendered the provisions cian for 15 violations of the Hatch Act after he of the Hatch Act unnecessary, even obsolete. ran for a state Senate seat in 2014.5 In addition, unlike in 1939, critics of the act Fortunately, the OSC has produced a handy claim there are now formidable whistleblower list of “Though Shalt Nots” and “You Cans” as a protections for employees who experience po- guide to the Hatch Act.6 Only the highpoints are litical coercion. Over the years there have been mentioned here: several efforts to weaken the conflict of inter- • Thou shalt not be a candidate for nomina- est safeguards that the act contains, leading tion or election to a partisan public office; many commentators to think that some of the • Thou shalt not use a position of official amendments and reforms have blurred the tight public authority to influence or interfere boundaries between the professional and the with the result of an election; political. Others such as the government unions • Thou shalt not solicit or host, accept, or re- and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ceive a donation or contribution to a parti- believe that the tight line drawn between public san political party, candidate, or group; and and private binds the liberty of civil servants.8 • Thou shalt not engage in political activity Those who defend the Hatch Act believe that on behalf of a partisan political party, can- the wall it erects between professional and per- didate, or group while on duty, in a federal sonal in the realm of political activities for fed- space, wearing a federal uniform, or driving eral employees must remain high and strong to a federal vehicle. protect the integrity of the administrative branch Covered under these daunting prohibitions is and the public trust.9 ordinary American politicking like hosting fun- So, as political advertisements dominate tele- draisers or inviting your coworkers to a political vision programming and the texts never stop rally, distributing campaign materials, and wear- asking for campaign donations, you can cast ing a T-shirt with your favorite candidates smil- your own vote for or against the Hatch Act. As ing face at work. The new hotbed of concern for for me and my house, we will follow President the Hatch Act is, you guessed it, social media— Jefferson in preferring to be the property of the you cannot use your blog, Facebook, Instagram, people rather than be indebted to the powerful. or e-mail account to comment pro or con for a You need never encounter a true conflict of in- partisan candidate, party, office, or group.6 terest if you have no false conflict of obligation: You may be asking at this point whether you history teaches us that serving 2 masters usually can even watch the political debates? Yes, that turns out badly for the slave. Many of you will is allowed under the Hatch Act along with run- completely disagree with my stance, holding 106 • FEDERAL PRACTITIONER • MARCH 2020 mdedge.com/fedprac EDITORIAL 4. Phillips A. What is the Hatch Act, and why did Kellyanne that your constitutional rights as a citizen are Conway get accused of violating it so egregiously? Washing- being curtailed, if not outright denied, simply ton Post. June 13, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com because you choose to serve your country. Our /politics/2019/06/13/what-is-hatch-act-why-did-kellyanne -conway-get-accused-violating-it-so-egregiously. Accessed ability to freely hold and express our differences February 24, 2020. of opinions about the Hatch Act and so much 5. Bur J. Special counsel: VA doctor violated Hatch Act while campaigning. https://www.federaltimes.com/federal else is what keeps democracy alive. -oversight/watchdogs/2017/11/22/special-counsel-va -doctor-violated-hatch-act-while-campaigning. Published Disclaimer November 22, 2017. Accessed February 24, 2020. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not 6. US Office of Special Counsel. A guide to the Hatch Act necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical for the federal employee.

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