Hatch Act of 1939 - Recent Events

Recent Events

• On September 13, 2012 the Office of Special Counsel charged Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius with violating the Hatch Act by making a political speech during an official government event. Sebelius later said she had made a mistake and that the error was "technical" in nature.
• On November 18, 2008, Vanderburgh County, Indiana Commission President Jeff Korb filed an injunction against Steven Melcher, who defeated Korb in the November 4, 2008 general election, citing the Hatch Act. Melcher is the facilities manager for the Community Action Program of Evansville (CAPE). CAPE is an agency that administers Head Start, LIHEAP heating assistance and Section 8 housing assistance among other federally funded programs in a three-county area of southwestern Indiana.
• On October 6, 2008, federal investigators announced that they were investigating Sheriff Mike Scott of Lee County, Florida for possible violations of the Hatch Act. The previous day, Sheriff Scott spoke, in uniform, on stage, at a rally for presidential candidate John McCain.
• On May 6, 2008, FBI agents raided Scott Bloch's offices. NPR and the Wall Street Journal reported that the raids were in relation to an investigation into allegations of obstruction of justice by Bloch's office. The New York Times reported that the investigation concerned whether Bloch had hired an outside company to "scrub" computer files to prevent an inquiry into whether he had violated the Hatch Act by mixing politics with his job, which is to shield whistleblowers.
• In November 2007, Terre Haute, Indiana mayor Kevin Burke challenged the candidacy of then-mayor-elect Duke Bennett under provisions of the Act. In November 2008, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Bennett, who took office after a Vigo County, Indiana judge ruled that he was eligible to serve, was ineligible under the terms of the Act. The ruling is nonbinding, pending Bennett's appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
• In June 2007, Lurita Alexis Doan, then Administrator of the General Services Administration, was found by the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) of violating the Hatch Act when she took part in a video conference with Karl Rove and other White House officials, and sent letters asking how to help Republican politicians get elected, and was accused by Special Counsel Scott Bloch of lying to deliberately mislead investigators.
• In 2006, the Utah Democratic Party challenged the candidacy of Ogden City Police Chief Jon Greiner for State Senate. The challenge was upheld by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel because the year prior the Ogden City Police Department received a federal grant to help pay for bulletproof vests. Jon Greiner appealed the decision, remained on the ballot, and won the election. He now serves as a Utah State Senator while the results of the appeal are unknown.
• On about July 29, 2004, the United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) cited the Hatch Act while ordering NASA to remove photos of Senator John Kerry taken during his visit to the Kennedy Space Center. The OSC later gave a press release stating that Kerry's visit did not violate the act.
• In 1993 Congress amended the Hatch Act to allow Federal employees to take an active part in political campaigns for Federal offices. Active Federal employees are able to participate in campaigns for President, Senate, and House of Representatives. (Retirees, spouses, and family members are not bound by the Hatch Act.)

• These incidents have led at least two scholars to urge Congress to consider tightening the Hatch Act's restrictions.

• On March 5, 2009, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced H.R. 1345, the District of Columbia Hatch Act Reform Act of 2009, into the U.S. Congress's House of Representatives. The bill would amend the Hatch Act to include the District of Columbia within the definition of "state" with respect to political activities of certain state and local employees; and (2) remove provisions specifically applicable to employees of government of the District of Columbia.