Political Activity in the Workplace

As more and more politicians announce their Presidential candidacy and the Presidential campaigns begin to gear up for the 2008 Election, Election Day will be here sooner than we think.  As federal employees and U.S. Citizens, we have the right to vote and express our personal opinions on political subjects and candidates.  However, the federal workplace should not be used for political advocacy, and therefore, federal employees are limited in the time and manner in which they engage in certain types of political activity.  For example, while employees may attend a political fundraising event or contribute financially to a political party, employees may not be candidates or run for office in a partisan election.  Employees are also prohibited from engaging in partisan political activity while on duty, in a government office, using a government computer, wearing an official uniform, or using a government vehicle.  This prohibition includes the use of government e-mail to advocate for or against a political party or candidate for partisan public office, even if the e-mail is merely an expression of the employee’s personal opinion to a friend or co-worker.

In addition, some Counsel and Service employees have further restrictions on their political activities because of the nature of their duties.  Employees in the Office of Criminal Investigation and career members of the Senior Executive Service are prohibited from engaging in all partisan political campaigns or organized partisan political activities.

Employees can find more information concerning political activity by accessing the Political Activity button on the EthicsLink website, which includes a page with examples of “election time dos and don’ts.”  Additionally, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is authorized by law to provide Hatch Act advice, and more detailed information is also available on their website, www.osc.gov.