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Hello everyone, I'm Ian Smith of
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Since it's an election year and because
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it's been in the news recently, I
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thought I'd talk to you today about the
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Hatch Act. Now, when I say that, I
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suspect most people probably think,
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"Wow, that sounds really boring." and
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their eyes just glaze over. And that's
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an understandable reaction. It's a law
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that's been around for almost 100 years
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now. And on the surface, as I said, it
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does sound pretty boring. But, it can
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cost you a lot of money or even
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potentially your job if you're found to
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be in violation of it. So, it's worth a
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few minutes to understand what it is and
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what it actually says and how it can
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impact you as a federal employee. So,
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On August 20th, the Office of Special
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Counsel, which is the agency that
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enforces the Hatch Act, filed
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disciplinary complaints against two
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federal employees. One of them works for
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the post office, the other for the VA.
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Both allegedly ran for partisan state
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legislative seats and solicited campaign
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contributions. And to be clear, these
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are allegations. OSC has filed a
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complaint, but the Merit Systems
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Protection Board hasn't ruled.
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Still, the details show exactly how
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modern tools, such as social media and
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artificial intelligence, are creating
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new ways to trip up federal employees
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over an old law. So, what does the Hatch
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Act actually say? It's been on the books
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since 1939 and it applies to most
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civilian employees in the executive
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branch, everyone except for the
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president and vice president. Off-duty,
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most employees can take part in partisan
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political activity. But, there are hard
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lines. You generally can't run for
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partisan office, use your official
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position to influence an election,
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solicit political contributions, or
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engage in political activity while on
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duty, in the workplace, in a government
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vehicle, or in uniform. And here's the
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rule that catches the most people off
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guard. The fundraising ban never turns
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off. Most Hatch Act restrictions only
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apply while you're on duty. Soliciting
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political contributions doesn't work
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that way, though. It's prohibited 24/7,
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even if you're at home, off the clock,
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or on your own phone.
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In 2024, an FDIC employee found that out
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A 130-day unpaid suspension for raising
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political funds outside of work hours.
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If you're thinking, "I'm not at work, so
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I'm fine." That's exactly the mistake
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that gets people disciplined. Social
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media is where a lot of these cases
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start. A Coast Guard civilian employee
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received a 90-day unpaid suspension
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after posting about 18 political items
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on a personal Facebook account. 11 of
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them were asking for donations.
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In a separate case, a VA employee got a
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70-day suspension for sharing Facebook
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for promoting partisan fundraisers.
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Neither case involved a government
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computer, though, but it didn't matter.
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The posts themselves were the violation.
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OSC has actually published specific
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guidance on social media, and it comes
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One, no political activity while you're
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on duty or in the federal workplace.
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That includes liking or sharing a post
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on your phone during an unpaid lunch
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break if you're still on government
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And two, never solicit political
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contributions on duty or off duty.
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And three, never post in your official
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capacity. None of this depends on
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whether your account is public, private,
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or under a fake name. OSC's guidance is
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explicit that none of that matters.
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And here's what makes the newest case
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different. OSC alleges the VA employee
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didn't just campaign. The employee used
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an official VA email account and a
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government-licensed Microsoft Copilot
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account to create campaign flyers.
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As more agencies roll out AI tools for
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everyday work, this is a reminder that a
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government AI account is still a
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The same rule that's always applied to a
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government printer or letterhead now
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applies to the AI assistant your agency
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None of this means though that federal
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employees have to stay silent about
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politics. Off-duty and away from the
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federal workplace, most employees can
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volunteer for a campaign, attend rallies
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and meetings, donate to a candidate
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even, as opposed to asking others to
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donate, and post their own political
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opinions on social media.
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The Hatch Act limits certain activities.
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It doesn't erase your right to
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participate. Some employees assume that
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resigning will resolve a Hatch Act
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problem, but it doesn't. In 2025, OSC
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confirmed it has authority to pursue
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former employees for violations that
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happened while they were still on the
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And the VA case from this August shows
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how messy this gets in practice.
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The employee submitted a resignation to
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comply with the law, then rescinded it
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after losing the primary, and allegedly
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claimed retroactive leave for the time
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Quitting isn't a shortcut around the
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So, what's the practical takeaway here?
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OSC's own guidance boils down to a short
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list. Keep political activity off-duty
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and off of government property.
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Never solicit political contributions,
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whether you're on the clock or not, and
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never use a government email account,
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computer, or AI tool for anything
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And when a situation feels unclear, ask
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before you act, not afterwards.
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If you have questions about a specific
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situation, OSC offers a free advisory
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opinion service, and every agency has an
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ethics office that can weigh in before
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We'll keep covering Hatch Act cases as
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they come up on fedsmith.com.
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But one last note, this video summarizes
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publicly available OSC guidance and past
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cases. It's not legal advice. So when in
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doubt, check with your agency's ethics
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office or OSC directly. And thank you
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for watching today. If you found this
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video helpful, please subscribe to the
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channel to get future updates. And it
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also helps to get the information out to
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other federal employees when you do.
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And also please be sure to check
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Um on the website there, we have a lot
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of information not only on the Hatch
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Act, but on many other topics that can
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that can help you with your federal
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career and your retirement planning. So
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thank you for watching and have a good
