The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has announced that it has authority to enforce the Hatch Act against former federal employees for violations committed during their federal service.
OSC made the announcement in a new advisory opinion issued in response to a litigation decision over the matter.
In April, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) issued an advisory opinion stating that it would temporarily refrain from filing new complaints against former federal employees for Hatch Act violations with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). This pause was intended to give the MSPB time to assess whether it had jurisdiction over such complaints.
However, the MSPB has since ruled that OSC does have authority to enforce Hatch Act violations against former federal employees. OSC stated in a new advisory opinion issued on December 22, 2025:
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has jurisdiction to enforce the Hatch Act against federal employees, and leaving federal service does not diminish OSC’s enforcement authority.
In April 2025, OSC announced it would refrain from filing new complaints against former employees for Hatch Act violations committed during their federal employment until the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ruled on whether it had jurisdiction over such complaints. Since that time, an MSPB Administrative Law Judge ruled that the MSPB has jurisdiction over Hatch Act complaints filed against former employees. Accordingly, subject to its discretion and the circumstances of each case, OSC will no longer refrain from filing complaints at the MSPB alleging Hatch Act violations where the subject employee has left federal service.
If you have questions about this advisory opinion, please contact OSC’s Hatch Act Unit at 202-804-7002 or [email protected].
Consequently, OSC said that it will resume filing complaints with the MSPB in cases involving alleged Hatch Act violations by former federal employees.
What is the Hatch Act?
The Hatch Act traces its roots to early efforts to professionalize the federal workforce. After the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 established a merit‑based system and created the Civil Service Commission, Congress continued searching for ways to insulate federal employees from political pressure.
By the late 1930s, concerns grew that federal programs and employees were being drawn into partisan political activity. In response, Congress passed the Hatch Act of 1939, named for Senator Carl Hatch (D-NM), to reinforce the principle that government service must remain nonpartisan and free from political coercion.
At its core, the Hatch Act is a federal law that limits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local employees whose work is tied to federally funded programs.
The law seeks to balance two important values: the government’s interest in an impartial civil service and employees’ rights to participate in the political process as private citizens. It prohibits federal employees from using their official authority to influence elections, engaging in political activity while on duty or in the workplace, or soliciting or receiving political contributions. Enforcement is handled by the OSC, which investigates alleged violations and can pursue disciplinary action through the MSPB.
The Hatch Act protects federal employees from being pressured by political appointees, supervisors, or elected officials to support a particular party or candidate, ensuring that advancement and job security are based on merit—not political loyalty.
It also limits what federal employees can do while on duty with respect to speaking in favor of or against candidates running for political office. Violations therefore are more likely to show up during an election year. In particular, social media use at work centered around politics is one area where federal employees have to exercise caution.
The most critical portions of the law are found in 5 U.S. Code § 7323 and § 7324. The Hatch Act means that a federal employee may not “use his official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an election.”
These are some of the more unique cases in which federal employees have demonstrated their political preferences in various ways, some of which have resulted in Hatch Act violations:
- Posting their political beliefs while on duty,
- Announcing a fundraiser for a candidate while on duty,
- Telling a political “joke” while on duty,
- Delivering a political chant to members of the public who called a federal agency,
- Running for public office and using the agency logo in campaign literature or
- Encouraging others to learn and perform the “Obama Shuffle” (among other activities).
