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Political Activity Restrictions of Federal Employees- NTK Announcement- September 3, 2018

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

On August 31, 2018, the Ethics Office posted the following announcement on the USGS internal website, @theCore.  The announcement was included in a Need To Know e-mail to all USGS employees the following Monday, September 3, 2018.  

Questions or concerns regarding this announcement should be directed to ethicsoffice@usgs.gov. 

A Hatch Act reminder e-mail was sent to all Department of Interior employees by Deputy Secretary Bernhardt on Aug 28, 2018. The Ethics Office has posted it on our website, where there is additional information regarding political activity (under Ethics Topics A-Z).

Political activity is any activity directed toward the success or failure of a partisan candidate, political party, or partisan political group.

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is the independent Federal agency with the responsibility for enforcing the Hatch Act. The OSC website https://osc.gov/pages/hatchact-affectsme.aspx

  • explains the political activity restrictions on further restricted and less restricted Federal employees
  • lists the possible penalties for violations of the Hatch Act
  • contains answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs)
  • lists sample advisory opinions

The OSC website also includes guidance for Federal employees guidance regarding social media and political activity. https://osc.gov/Pages/Hatch-Act-Social-Media-and-Email-Guidance.aspx

Questions regarding the Hatch Act or political activity restrictions may be sent to EthicsOffice@usgs.gov, or you may call Nancy Baumgartner, USGS Deputy Ethics Counselor, at 703-648-7474.