Hatch Act Change Benefits City Workers Running for Office
Since its enactment more than 70 years ago, the Hatch Act prohibited municipal employees from running for elective office in the city in which the employee works if the employment was funded in whole or in part with federal funds. That law has prevented many local employees from running for elected office, because the broad language of the Act covered a significant number of employment positions, including police officers (where federal grant funding is common).
Last year, the law was amended to narrow its scope - now, the ban applies only to employees whose salaries are paid "completely, directly or indirectly, by loans or grants made by the United States or a Federal Agency." That change has not gotten a lot of press, but it is a significant one for municipal employees who are interested in running for office in the municipality where they work. Before ordering all those campaign signs, however, employees should sure that there isn't a state or local law that might prohibit that activity (i.e., conflict of interest law).
Post Authored by Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink
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