[EL] FEC employee and Hatch Act

[Steve Kolbert]

Mark,

>From what little I remember of my Hatch Act training at the FEC some years
ago, there are two levels of Hatch Act restrictions: "less restricted"
(most federal employees, but not the uniformed services) and "further
restricted" (ALJs, law enforcement, national security, etc.). FEC staff are
"further restricted." As I recall, some of the Hatch Act prohibitions
govern off-duty conduct, while others do not. That's about the extent of my
recollection, but the Office of Special Counsel has an FAQ online:
http://www.osc.gov/haFederalfaq.htm

The Hatch Act does contain an additional FEC-specific provision, which says
FEC staff (excluding the Commissioners themselves) "may not request or
receive from, or give to, an employee, a Member of Congress, or an officer
of a uniformed service a political contribution." See 5 U.S.C. 7323(b)(1);
5 C.F.R. § 734.413.

I'm no Hatch Act expert, so if someone else can chime in with more
expertise (and correct this post if I've made an error), please do.


Steve Kolbert
(202) 422-2588
steve.kolbert at gmail.com
@Pronounce_the_T
On May 2, 2014 1:33 PM, "Scarberry, Mark" <Mark.Scarberry at pepperdine.edu>
wrote:

Interesting WaPo headline that puts Obama-bashing first, when it was an
*FEC* employee (with an agency charged with supervising political speech)
who bashed Romney, and a civilian Air Force employee who bashed Obama.

On the other hand, the text of the article (the responsibility of the
reporter, one assumes, rather than the headline-writing editors) seems
balanced, and the sanctions imposed seem proportional to the gravity of the
offenses.

A Hatch Act question: if the FEC employee did this on the employee's own
time, off the workplace premises, and not using a government email account
or other government resources, would there be a Hatch Act violation? The
article doesn't, as far as I could see (but I didn't read it carefully)
give details on that employee's activities. I assume there's a specific
statute or reg dealing with FEC staff in addition to the Hatch Act; is that
correct?

Mark

Mark S. Scarberry
Pepperdine University School of Law


Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Rick Hasen
Date:05/02/2014 9:38 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: law-election at UCI.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/2/14

-------- Original message --------
From: Rick Hasen
Date:05/02/2014 9:38 AM (GMT-08:00)
To: law-election at UCI.edu
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 5/2/14

 <http://electionlawblog.org/>
  "Two federal employees disciplined for bashing Obama and Romney at
work"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61152>
Posted on May 2, 2014 9:29 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=61152> by Rick
Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/05/01/two-federal-employees-disciplined-for-bashing-obama-and-romney-at-work/>:
"A former Federal Elections Commission employee and an Air Force civilian
admitted to engaging in prohibited political activities on the job,
including criticizing the 2012 presidential nominees, according to the U.S.
Office of Special Counsel."

More:

The FEC worker's actions add fuel to Republican suspicions that the agency,
which enforces campaign-finance laws, has become a tool for the left. GOP
lawmakers have suggested that the commission has long wanted to undermine
the Supreme Court's 2010 *Citizens United* decision, which allowed
corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds on elections.

"I think you can understand why reports of this nature make Republicans
somewhat wary of the FEC and [its] ability to regulate their behavior,"
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said Wednesday during a Senate Rules and
Administration Committee hearing.

 [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D61152&title=%E2%80%9CTwo%20federal%20employees%20disciplined%20for%20bashing%20Obama%20and%20Romney%20at%20work%E2%80%9D&description=>
 Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, federal
election commission <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

... --

Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000949.824.3072 - office949.824.0495 -
faxrhasen at law.uci.eduhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/http://electionlawblog.org


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