The Hatch Act: Who It Covers, Rules, and Penalties

The Hatch Act is a 1939 federal law that restricts partisan political activity by civilian executive branch employees, the U.S. Postal Service workforce, and certain state and local government workers whose positions are funded by federal grants or loans. It draws a line between public service and party politics: covered employees can vote, donate, and hold their own opinions, but they cannot use their government job, title, workplace, or work hours to help a partisan campaign. Violations are prosecuted by the Office of Special Counsel and can end in removal from federal service and a five-year bar on federal employment.

Congress passed the law after reports that federal workers were being pressured into campaign work to swing congressional elections. Named for Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico, it rests on a simple premise that has held up for nearly nine decades: people who administer government programs should do so on merit, and no one should have to support a candidate to keep a paycheck.

Who the Hatch Act Covers

Coverage runs through the entire civilian executive branch, every federal department and agency, and the United States Postal Service.¹ It also reaches state and local employees whose principal duties are connected to an activity financed in whole or part by federal loans or grants, under 5 U.S.C. §§ 1501–1508. Workers at educational or research institutions supported by state or local funding are excluded.²

What matters is how the position is funded, not the job title. A city planner with no other federal tie can be covered because the project she works on runs on a federal grant. The President and Vice President are explicitly exempt, along with certain Senate-confirmed presidential appointees in policy-making roles.³

Covered employees fall into two tiers. Most are “less restricted.” A smaller group at named national security, law enforcement, and election-integrity agencies is “further restricted” and faces tighter rules even off the clock.

Rules for Less Restricted Employees

Two bright-line prohibitions apply to everyone in this tier. You cannot use your official authority or position to influence an election, and you cannot solicit, accept, or receive political contributions. A narrow exception allows solicitation within certain federal employee labor organizations that operate multicandidate political committees.⁴

A separate statute, 5 U.S.C. § 7324, adds time and place limits. No covered employee may engage in political activity:

While on duty (in pay status, not counting approved leave)
In any government building used for official duties
While wearing an official uniform, badge, or insignia
While using a government-owned or government-leased vehicle

These rules read broadly. Wearing a campaign button at your desk, taping a candidate poster to your cubicle wall, or sending a fundraising email from a government computer all violate the Act.⁵ Less restricted employees also cannot run for office in a partisan election, meaning any race where candidates appear on the ballot with a party label.³

The fundraising ban trips people up constantly. You cannot personally ask anyone for a political donation, let your official title appear on fundraising materials, or ask a subordinate to volunteer for a campaign. Attending a fundraiser is fine; standing up at one and asking the room for money is not.⁶

Rules for Further Restricted Employees

Employees at certain agencies operate under much tighter limits, unless they were appointed by the President with Senate confirmation. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7323(b)(2), the further restricted list includes:⁴

Federal Election Commission and Election Assistance Commission
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Secret Service
Central Intelligence Agency
National Security Council and National Security Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Merit Systems Protection Board and Office of Special Counsel
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
IRS Office of Criminal Investigation
Customs Service Office of Investigative Programs
ATF Office of Law Enforcement

Employees of the Criminal Division and National Security Division of the Department of Justice are also further restricted, along with career members of the Senior Executive Service and employees in certain other senior pay categories.

Anyone in this tier is barred from taking an active part in partisan political management or campaigns, on duty or off. That means no managing a campaign, no organizing a rally, no circulating nominating petitions for a partisan candidate, and no serving as an officer in a political party. The reasoning is that the public needs to trust that intelligence analysts, federal investigators, and election regulators are not working a partisan angle.³

Social Media and the Modern Workplace

Most current Hatch Act confusion involves social media. The underlying rule is the same one that governs a bumper sticker: anything you cannot do at the office, you cannot do online while on duty or in a federal building.

Less restricted employees can post opinions about candidates or parties on personal accounts when off duty and away from the workplace. They can follow candidates, like partisan posts, and share campaign content on their own time. But they cannot post, share, like, or retweet anything from a personal account while on duty or in a federal building, even nonpolitical content, if their profile picture displays a campaign logo or candidate photo. The profile picture travels with every action, so each post effectively broadcasts partisan support.⁷

The solicitation ban also carries over online. Sharing, liking, or retweeting a post asking for political donations is treated like handing out fundraising flyers. If someone tags you in a solicitation post you do not have to remove it, but you cannot like or share it.⁸

Further restricted employees face additional online limits at all hours. They cannot share content from a candidate’s or party’s social media page, retweet a party’s posts, or link to campaign material. A further restricted employee who retweets a partisan candidate’s official account violates the Act regardless of time or location.⁷ Supervisors get one extra caution: a supervisor cannot mention or tag a subordinate in a post supporting a partisan candidate, even from a personal account.⁸

What Covered Employees Can Still Do

The law was never meant to strip federal workers of their citizenship. Congress wrote in as policy that employees “should be encouraged to exercise fully, freely, and without fear of penalty or reprisal” their right to participate in politics within the law.⁹ Every covered employee, including the further restricted, may:

Vote in any election and register voters through nonpartisan drives
Express personal opinions about candidates and issues in a private capacity
Contribute money to political parties, candidates, or organizations
Attend rallies, fundraisers, conventions, and party meetings on their own time
Run for office in nonpartisan elections
Join political clubs or parties as a regular member

Less restricted employees can also take an active part in campaigns when off duty, including volunteering, distributing literature, and organizing events. The boundary is always the same: off the clock, out of the building, and away from the official title.¹⁰

State and local employees covered through federal funding may now run for partisan office as well, unless their salary is paid entirely by federal loans or grants. A stricter state or local law may still prohibit the candidacy, so check both.¹¹

Penalties for Violations

The Office of Special Counsel is the only agency authorized to investigate and prosecute Hatch Act violations.¹² When the OSC finds sufficient evidence, it brings the case before the Merit Systems Protection Board. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7326, the Board may impose any of the following, alone or in combination:¹³

Removal from federal service
Reduction in grade
Debarment from federal employment for up to five years
Suspension without pay
Reprimand
Civil penalty up to $1,000

Removal ends the employee’s federal career. Debarment locks the person out of any federal job for the specified period. The Board has wide discretion, so a first-time minor lapse will typically draw a lighter penalty than a deliberate, repeated pattern of using official authority for partisan ends.

Filing a Complaint

Anyone can file a Hatch Act complaint with the OSC, and the person filing does not have to be the one harmed. Coworkers, members of the public, and agency officials can all initiate the process. The fastest route is the OSC’s online filing portal; complaints can also be emailed to info@osc.gov using OSC Form 14.¹⁴ The OSC reviews the allegation, may ask for more information, and decides whether to open a formal investigation.

Getting an Advisory Opinion Before You Act

When the rules feel unclear, ask before you post, run, or donate. Federal employees can request a formal advisory opinion from the OSC’s Hatch Act Unit by emailing hatchact@osc.gov, calling (800) 854-2824, or writing to the OSC at 1730 M Street NW, Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036-4505.¹⁵ Getting the opinion in writing before you act is the single strongest protection available. Following an OSC advisory opinion in good faith weighs heavily in your favor if questions come up later.

1
U.S. Department of the Interior. Political Activity
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 1501 – Definitions
3
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Hatch Act
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7323 – Political Activity Authorized; Prohibitions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7324 – Political Activity While on Duty
6
eCFR. 5 CFR Part 734 – Political Activities of Federal Employees
7
U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The Hatch Act – Frequently Asked Questions on Federal Employees and the Use of Social Media and Email
8
DoD Standards of Conduct Office. Hatch Act Guidance on Social Media
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7321 – Political Participation
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Political Activities and the Hatch Act
11
U.S. Office of Special Counsel. State, DC, or Local Employee Hatch Act Information
12
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. The Role of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7326 – Penalties
14
U.S. Office of Special Counsel. File a Complaint
15
eCFR. 5 CFR 1800.4 – Filing Complaints of Hatch Act Violations and Requesting Advisory Opinions