The Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act increases transparency and accountability in Hatch Act enforcement by requiring the Special Counsel to report to Congress and the public on allegations of prohibited political activity by government employees, particularly noncareer employees.
Ben Luján
Senator
NM
The Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act increases transparency and accountability in the investigation and enforcement of Hatch Act violations, which prohibits certain political activities by federal employees. It requires the Special Counsel to report to Congress on allegations against noncareer employees, provide detailed explanations for not filing complaints, and publish anonymized data on Hatch Act enforcement. The Act also ensures the Special Counsel has access to demographic information of employees involved in allegations.
Hatch Act Enforcement Bill Mandates More Reporting, Public Data on Federal Employee Political Activity Probes
This bill, the "Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act," tightens the leash on how alleged political activity violations by federal employees are handled, especially for political appointees. It aims to boost transparency by requiring more detailed reporting to Congress and the public about investigations conducted by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
More Eyes on Political Appointees
The core change involves increased scrutiny of "noncareer employees" – essentially, political appointees and certain senior executives not hired through the standard merit-based system (Sec 2). Under Section 3, the Special Counsel must now send reports every 180 days to key House and Senate committees detailing complaints against these noncareer employees, including copies of complaints, employee names/positions, and whether OSC decided to investigate. Section 4 expands annual reporting requirements to include specifics on allegations against noncareer staff, investigations launched, and outcomes, plus a confidential list of those not investigated.
Public Disclosure and Data Tracking
Transparency gets another boost under Section 5. If the OSC investigates a noncareer employee (who isn't Senate-confirmed) for prohibited political activity but decides not to file a complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), it must now provide a detailed written explanation publicly. Furthermore, the OSC is mandated to track and publish anonymized data on its website for at least 10 years. This data covers the number of allegations, investigations, and MSPB complaints for both career and noncareer employees, broken down by demographics like race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, and disability status. Agencies, OPM, and the White House Personnel Office must provide this demographic info to OSC if they already have it.
What It Means on the Ground
In practice, this means more sunlight on how the Hatch Act – the law limiting political activities for government workers – is enforced, particularly concerning those in politically appointed roles. Congress gets more direct oversight tools, and the public gets access to aggregate data and explanations for OSC decisions. While aiming for accountability, the increased reporting and data collection could add a significant workload for the OSC. The focus on differentiating between career and noncareer employees highlights a specific concern about potential political influence within the executive branch. The bill also includes a standard severability clause (Sec 6), ensuring that if one part is struck down legally, the rest remains intact.