The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) today announced that it has reached disciplinary action settlements with two U.S. Postal Service employees who violated the Hatch Act in October 2016. Both employees work in the same post office in Ashtabula, Ohio.
The first employee violated the Hatch Act’s prohibition against engaging in political activity while on duty and in the federal workplace when he brought campaign signs promoting a presidential candidate into the post office. He had obtained them from his union to distribute to other union members, but was advised not to distribute the signs at work. Nonetheless, he announced during a morning staff meeting that the union had endorsed the candidate, and he had signs in his workspace for anyone who was interested. In a settlement agreement, he agreed to serve a 30-day suspension for his violation.
The next morning, post office employees received a briefing on the Hatch Act. The second employee, who supported a different presidential candidate, then filmed himself inside of his postal vehicle and posted the video to Facebook. In it, he identified himself as a postal employee, criticized the presidential candidate whom the union had endorsed, and praised the candidate he supported. He concluded by stating, “I don’t care about this Hatch law. If I lose my job, so be it. But I want my country back.” OSC also discovered that the second employee had posted several other messages that either supported or opposed a presidential candidate while he was on duty or in his postal vehicle. The settlement agreement provides that he will serve a 60-day suspension for his knowing and willful Hatch Act violations.
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