Election Over, Workers Can Break Out the Campaign Buttons

By Joe Davidson
Friday, November 14, 2008

The Hatch Act, which regulates the political activity of federal employees, isn't as restrictive as some workers think. It might surprise them that the law even allows wearing and displaying campaign items on the job -- as long as it's after the election.

So you now can break out your Obama buttons, or your McCain signs, without getting the boot.

But it might be hard to tell that from the roundabout way the Office of Special Counsel explains the law.

"An employee covered by the Act may not, among other things, engage in political activity while on duty, in a government building, while wearing an official uniform, or using a government vehicle," reads the statement.

"Political activity has been defined as activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for a partisan political office or partisan political group."

The statement goes on to say that until votes of the Electoral College "have been tallied and certified, all candidates for President and Vice President retain their status as candidates."

That won't happen until the first week of January.

Therefore, the statement continues, "an individual ceases being a Presidential candidate for purposes of the Hatch Act on the sixth of January following Election Day."

But then the special counsel changes gears. After explaining why the election really isn't over, the office concluded it's okay for federal employees to wear and display campaign gear.

"Even though Senators McCain and Obama will still be Presidential candidates until January 6, 2009, we do not believe that wearing their campaign t-shirts or displaying their pictures after Election Day is activity directed at the success of their candidacies. Accordingly, the Hatch Act does not prohibit a federal employee from doing so, even while on duty or in the federal workplace."

You can read the statement at http://osc.gov/documents/hatchact/federal/Hatchact08.PDF

Unappreciated Civil Servants

The top civil servants in the federal government apparently don't feel appreciated under President Bush, nor have they for some time. The Senior Executives Association wants that to stop under the administration of Barack Obama.

In a report issued this week, the organization acknowledges that its concerns aren't at the top of his to-do list. "Senior executive service issues won't be among your top five priorities," it says right on the title page, "but addressing them will make it more likely that you will succeed in accomplishing your priorities."

Members of the career executive corps average 26 years in government, and they earned their positions the hard way, by promotions based on merit.

"For many years and several administrations, utilization of the advice and creativity of the career Senior Executive Service (SES) corps has been steadily diminished," the report complains. "It has been politically fashionable to denigrate and mistrust the bureaucracy" and the career corps who have been "buried under layers of non-career appointees."

One long-standing beef is the low pay, relatively speaking, executives get. In Washington, GS-15s, those at the top of the General Schedule pay system, now make almost $35,000 more than their bosses at the lower end of the executive service pay scale, which is $114,468, according to the association.

That has resulted, the SEA argues, in a growing lack of interest among GS-14s and GS-15s in moving into the senior executive corps.

On top of that, the pay-for-performance system for government executives is a big turnoff. It is plagued "with great inconsistencies" and is prone to de facto quotas on the number of executives who can be rated highly, the report said.

"These problems have resulted in executives retiring at the earliest opportunity, demoralization among many who stay, and decisions by those who would be qualified to compete for SES entry to decline to do so."

Contact Joe Davidson at federaldiary@washpost.com.