Ethics Issues During a Lapse of Appropriations: Hatch Act Reminders

Even if EPA experiences a lapse of appropriations, you are still subject to the Hatch Act, which governs the political activity of federal employees even in your personal capacity. You cannot use official authority to interfere with the results of an election, and you have restrictions about engaging in political activity.

The following prohibitions apply to all employees, all the time. These are 24/7 restrictions. You can never ever:

• Solicit, accept, or receive political contributions
• Run for partisan political office
• Use your EPA affiliation or title in connection with political activity
• Engage in political activity in the federal workplace including telework locations (during work hours)
• Coerce subordinates to engage in political activity
• Accept volunteer services from a subordinate
• Use your official authority to interfere with the outcome of an election
• Solicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before EPA

How the rest of the Hatch Act applies to you depends on your type of appointment. Most employees are lesser restricted while some are further restricted:

Political Appointees with Senate Confirmation (PAS)	Lesser restricted	Further restricted
(Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Assistant Administrators, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Inspector General)	Most employees (GS, Administratively Determined, SL/STs, Title 42, Schedule C, non-career SES)	Some employees (Career SES, Administrative Law Judges, and Public Health Service officers)

Political Activities and Federal Employees

The Hatch Act regulates the political activities of executive branch employees, excluding the President and Vice President. The following table summarizes what political activities EPA employees can and cannot do based on their appointment.

Personal (off premises and off duty)

Type of Activity	PAS*	Non-Career SES, Schedule C*, Title 42, SL/ST, AD*, GS, Other	Career SES, ALJs
Express support for or opposition to a political candidate when off duty	Yes	Yes	Yes
Run as a partisan candidate for nomination or office in a partisan election	No	No	No
Solicit and accept contributions for your campaign in a non-partisan election	Yes	Yes	Yes
Solicit a contribution from a member of your union	N/A	Yes	N/A
Work a phone bank asking individuals to volunteer	Yes	Yes	No
Campaign on behalf of a candidate in a partisan election	Yes	Yes	No
Be active on behalf of a candidate at political rallies or meetings	Yes	Yes	No
Attend political rallies and meetings	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contribute money to political organizations	Yes	Yes	Yes
Work in non-partisan voter registration drives	Yes	Yes	Yes
Work in partisan voter registration drives	Yes	Yes	No
Register and vote	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sign a nominating petition	Yes	Yes	Yes
Distribute campaign material in a partisan election	Yes	Yes	No
Work as an election judge, poll watcher, clerical worker on election day, even compensated on that day for that work	Yes	Yes	Yes
Drive people to polling station on behalf of a campaign	Yes	Yes	No

Affecting Official Resources

Type of Activity	PAS*	Non-Career SES, Schedule C*, Title 42, SL/ST, AD*, GS, Other	Career SES, ALJs
Use office time for political activity	Yes; IG-No	No	No
Use official space for political activity in general	Yes; IG-No	No	No
Use official authority to interfere with an election	No	No	No

Fundraising

Type of Activity	PAS*	Non-Career SES, Schedule C*, Title 42, SL/ST, AD*, GS, Other	Career SES, ALJs
Attend a political fundraiser	Yes	Yes	Yes
Solicit, accept or receive political contributions in general	No	No	No
Solicit or receive a political contribution on government premises	No	No	No
Plan or organize a political fundraiser when off duty	Yes	Yes	No
Sponsor, host, or allow your name as sponsor/host for a political fundraiser	No	No	No
Serve drinks or check coats at a political fundraiser	Yes	Yes	No
Speak at a partisan fundraiser without appealing for money	Yes	Yes	No
Allow only your name to be listed as speaker on fundraising invitation	Yes	Yes	No

_{*PAS = Political Appointee Confirmed by the Senate; Schedule C = political appointees not confirmed by Senate; AD = Administratively Determined; SES = Senior Executive Service. PHS Officers are subject to 45 CFR Part 73, Subpart F, which is most similar to the Career SES/ALJ column.}