Hatch Act Text: Restrictions, Penalties, and Advisory Opinions

The Hatch Act rules for federal employees draw a hard line between your job and partisan politics: on duty, in a federal building, in uniform, or using any government resource, you stay out of partisan activity entirely, and even off duty you cannot run for partisan office, solicit political contributions, or use your official authority to sway an election. Off the clock and away from government space, most federal workers can still volunteer for campaigns, donate, attend rallies, and speak their minds. Violations are handled by the Office of Special Counsel and can cost you anything from a reprimand to your job.

Who Counts as a Covered Federal Employee

The Act, codified at 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321–7326, applies to anyone employed or holding office in an executive agency, including the U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission, along with employees in competitive service positions outside a traditional executive agency.¹ That is a wide net across the civilian federal workforce.

A few groups sit outside it. The President and Vice President are explicitly excluded.² Members of the uniformed services are not covered by these federal employee provisions, and private contractors working on government projects are generally exempt from the Hatch Act, though other rules may apply to them.³ D.C. government employees, once covered as federal workers, were moved by the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 into the state and local employee provisions of §§ 1501–1508.⁴

What You Cannot Do

Section 7323 sets out four prohibitions that apply to every covered federal employee, on duty or off:

You cannot use your official authority, position, title, or resources to influence the outcome of any election. A supervisor pressuring subordinates to back a candidate is the classic violation.⁵
You cannot solicit, accept, or receive political contributions from most people. A narrow exception lets you solicit members of the same federal labor organization for that organization’s multicandidate political committee, provided the person solicited is not your subordinate.⁵
You cannot run for nomination or election to any partisan political office.
You cannot encourage or discourage political activity by anyone who has an application, contract, or ruling pending before your office, or who is the subject of an ongoing audit or investigation by your office.⁶

That last one is easy to miss. If someone is waiting on a permit, grant, or license from your agency, even a casual nudge toward a campaign donation crosses the line, because the power imbalance makes the request coercive by its nature.

On-Duty, Workplace, and Social Media Limits

Section 7324 adds a second layer: activities that would otherwise be fine for most employees become violations if done in the wrong place or at the wrong time. You cannot engage in political activity while on duty (including while teleworking), inside any room or building used for official government duties, while wearing a uniform or official insignia, or while using a government-owned or government-leased vehicle.⁷ A partisan email from a government account, a campaign bumper sticker on a government car, a political call from your desk: all violations.⁸

Social media is where most modern violations happen, and the standard is strict. While on duty or in a federal workplace, you cannot post, like, share, or retweet content supporting or opposing a political party, partisan candidate, or partisan political group. You cannot like, follow, or friend the social media account of a party, partisan candidate, or partisan political group. And you cannot use an alias or pseudonymous account to get around any of it.⁹

Two points worth pinning down. The workplace restriction does not lift during an unpaid lunch break. If you are in a federal building and pull out your personal phone, the same rules apply. Teleworking employees remain bound by the on-duty prohibition even though they are physically at home.⁹ Following the official government account of a sitting officeholder who becomes a candidate for reelection is not a violation, because the account belongs to the office, not the campaign.

What You Can Still Do

The Act does not take away your rights as a citizen. Section 7323(a) preserves the right to vote as you choose and the right to express your personal opinions on political subjects and candidates, and no restriction can override those.¹⁰ Talking politics at a dinner party, posting your views from your own device on your own time, wearing a campaign button to the grocery store: all fine.

Most executive branch workers, the “less restricted” group, can also take an active part in campaigns and political management off duty and away from the workplace. That means volunteering for a candidate, giving campaign speeches, distributing literature, serving as a delegate to a political convention, and holding office in a political club or party. The four core prohibitions above still apply, but the space for private civic engagement is real.

Nonpartisan activity is broader still. You can participate in referendums, ballot initiatives, and nonpartisan elections without the same limits that apply to partisan campaigns, and in some cases you can run for local nonpartisan office where no candidate represents a political party.

If You Are “Further Restricted”

A subset of federal employees, listed in 5 U.S.C. § 7323(b)(2), faces tighter rules. These employees cannot take an active part in political management or partisan campaigns at all, on or off duty. No volunteering for a candidate, no serving as a party officer, no acting as a convention delegate, no distributing campaign literature. They keep the right to vote and to express opinions, but they cannot act “in concert” with a party or partisan candidate.⁶

The further restricted category covers agencies where political neutrality is treated as essential:

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Central Intelligence Agency
National Security Agency
National Security Council
Federal Election Commission and Election Assistance Commission
Merit Systems Protection Board
Career Senior Executive Service employees across all agencies
Administrative law judges³

One exception within the group: employees at further restricted agencies who were appointed by the President with Senate confirmation may still participate in political management and campaigns.

Penalties If You Violate the Act

Before 2012, removal was almost the only penalty available. The Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 gave the Merit Systems Protection Board a wider range.¹¹ Under 5 U.S.C. § 7326, a federal employee found to have violated the Act can face:

Removal from federal service
Reduction in grade
Debarment from federal employment for up to five years
Suspension without pay
Reprimand
A civil penalty of up to $1,000
Any combination of the above¹²

The MSPB weighs the facts of each case using a set of twelve factors, including whether the violation was intentional, the employee’s disciplinary history, the prominence of the position, whether the conduct was repeated, and the impact on the agency’s reputation.¹³ A one-time lapse looks nothing like a pattern of using official email to raise money.

Complaints are handled by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates, can negotiate settlements or issue warnings, and can file a formal complaint with the MSPB.¹⁴ Federal employees are required to cooperate with OSC investigations.

Getting an Advisory Opinion Before You Act

If you are unsure whether something you want to do would cross the line, ask before you do it. OSC’s Hatch Act Unit issues advisory opinions to federal employees at hatchact@osc.gov, by phone at (800) 854-2824, or by mail.¹⁵ A written opinion in hand is far cheaper than a disciplinary hearing.

1
GovInfo. 5 USC 7322 – Definitions
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7322 – Definitions
3
U.S. Department of Justice. Political Activities
4
Congress.gov. S.2170 – Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7323 – Political Activity Authorized; Prohibitions
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Office of Special Counsel. 5 USC 7323 – Political Activity Authorized; Prohibitions
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7324 – Political Activity While on Duty
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Department of Justice. Political Activity and The Hatch Act
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184th Wing. Hatch Act Guidance on Social Media
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7323 – Political Activity Authorized; Prohibitions
11
Congress.gov. Public Law 112-230 – Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 US Code 7326 – Penalties
13
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. Adverse Actions: Determining the Penalty
14
U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Hatch Act Policies and Procedures
15
eCFR. 5 CFR 1800.4 – Filing Complaints of Hatch Act Violations