Hatch Act Refreshers & E-mail Enforcement

Even if not for the December White House directive on Hatch Act reminders, many standards of conduct officials would be sending out notices about this time, due to the ongoing primaries and upcoming Presidential election. It's tempting to simply recycle a Hatch Act notice used in previous years, but that may not be so wise this time.

As a recent Boston Globe story about investigations of employees accused of sending e-mails attacking Barak Obama illustrates, the Office of Special Counsel is emphasizing this area. As we explained in a previous post, there has been a significant change in OCS's legal interpretation since their 2002 "water cooler" memo. Making sure your employees understand this could prevent many problems.

Our Hatch Act archives contain links to many training resources. Let us know if you have a suggested addition in the form of a link or original material you would like to share.