The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) today announced a settlement agreement reached with a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee charged with violating the Hatch Act.
The VA employee ran in the partisan election for New Hampshire State Representative and on two occasions knowingly accepted political contributions. The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from being candidates for public office in partisan elections and from knowingly soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions. In response to OSC's enforcement efforts, the VA employee, who had won the race, stepped down from the elected office. In addition, the employee admitted to violating the Hatch Act and agreed to a 15-day suspension without pay as a penalty for his violations.
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