The Hatch Act
Shortly after filing a Democrat primary petition for the Illinois Twentieth Congressional District, David Loebach was informed that he was not eligible to be a congressional candidate. Loebach, an employee of the Illinois Department of Human Services, has discovered that his job may be covered under Title 5 of the United States Code, chapter 15, paragraph 1501. Commonly referred to as the Hatch Act of 1939, this law regulates which State or local government employees may run for partisan political office.
Paragraphs 1501 and 1502 of the act state that a State or local officer or employee whose principal employment is in connection with activity which is financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the United States or a Federal agency may not (1) use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office; (2) directly or indirectly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, or advise a State or local officer or employee to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to a party, committee, organization, agency, or person for political purposes; or (3) be a candidate for elective office. These officers and employees retain the right to vote and to express opinions on political subjects and candidates. The act does not prohibit the people specified in the act from being a candidate in a non-partisan election.
The act does not apply to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or individuals authorized by law to act as Governor; the Mayor of a City; a duly elected head of an executive department of a State or municipality who is not classified under a State or municipal merit or civil service system; or an individual holding elective office.
The Office of Special Counsel was established in 1989 as an independent agency within the executive branch of the federal government. It has been designated as the agency which will investigate the provisions of this act. If, after receiving a creditable report of a violation of the act, the Special Counsel shall investigate and present its finding to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The MSPB will set a hearing date and notify the officer or employee. At that hearing the MSPB will determine if there was a violation of the act, determine whether the violation warrants the removal of the officer or employee from the office or employment, and will notify the individual and the agency of its decision by mail.
If the Merit Systems Protection Board orders the removal of an officer or employee and finds that after 30 days that individual has not been removed or has been removed but rehired in less than 18 months by the State in a State or local agency which does not receive loans or grants from a federal agency, the MSPB will take action to cause the appropriate federal agency to withhold from its loans or grants to the State or local agency, to which notice was given, an amount equal to two years pay at the rate the officer or employee was receiving at the time of the violation. Of course the act also provides for appeal to the Courts.
David Loebach may or may not be a credible candidate for Congress. Yet, if the Office of Special Counsel determines that the Illinois Department of Human Services receives federal funds, Mr. Loebach will not be permitted to be a candidate.
State and local governments employ vast armies of workers like Mr. Loebach. Many of their executive agencies receive federal funds. By taking those funds, governments also agree to take from their employees a portion of their political rights. There are numerous reasons why Congress passed the Hatch Act in 1939. Yet, one must inquire about the fairness of a system which prevents otherwise qualified citizens from running for political office. The U.S. Constitution clearly defines the qualifications to be a candidate for federal office. There is no mention of an exclusion for those who work for a State or local government agency which receives federal grants or loans. Mr. Loebach may be struck from his Congressional ballot contention through no fault of his own. Rather, it may be as a result of an omnipresent federal government.
Just because the federal government sends grants or loans to a State or a local agency it should not automatically disqualify an entire class of otherwise qualified citizens from seeking political office. There may have been good political reasons in 1939 but are those reasons still valid in 1998? Let's see some statesmanship, for a change.
Congress should revisit that portion of the Hatch Act of 1939 which excludes an entire class of citizens from their right to be a candidate for any partisan political office, municipal, State, or Federal. They should consider modifying or repealing Paragraph 1502 (a) (3); be a candidate for elective office.
Lee A. Presser
