From the Columbus Dispatch, More workers accused of politicking on state time. First the usual cautionary statement, it is not clear which campaign the three Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission employees were using government email/computers to “politic” for. What I found interesting was this:
Their alleged misconduct was brought to light in early October by the federal Social Security Administration, which operates the computer system and funds the budget of the Bureau of Disability Determination. The federal agency has the ability to monitor employee e-mail messages.
Social Security Administration officials declined to answer questions today.
Although the employees work for the state, they’re subject to the federal Hatch Act, which forbids politicking with government resources or while on the clock.
For some reason this was not revealed earlier, and it was known over a month ago, the three employees are still on the job and have not been put on any type of leave according to the Dispatch article. What I also found to be interesting was the statement released by the Union:
The union that represents the three, the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, is part of a coalition of unions that backed Obama, but spokeswoman Sally Meckling said the union hasn’t been informed of the nature of the alleged violations.
Meckling released a statement from union executive director Andy Douglas cautioning against a rush to judgment.
“This highlights that there’s something wrong with the system when the free-speech rights of our members are being violated,” Douglas said. “We believe the First Amendment applies to everyone, including our members.”
I don’t think you can use a First Amendment argument here, not if employees were doing any political campaigning of any type including use of government email and computers to do so. If you want more information on the Hatch Act they do have a page specifically for state employees. Ohio has it’s own stipulations in the Ohio Revised Code that makes it fairly clear what is allowed and what is not allowed. The Ohio Civil Service Employees Association even has a page on their website that warns employees about the Hatch Act and how it can affect them.
The issue of this being a First Amendment issue has been raised before in relation to the Hatch Act. So far the courts have held that the Hatch Act is not an unconstitutional infringement on employees’ first amendment right to freedom of speech because employees retain the right to speak out on political subjects and candidates. There have been several cases of employees who have been suspended or faced more severe disciplinary action related to sending emails. One example:
This NASA employee was using his government email account and government computer to post partisan statements in support of a candidate for state office in 2006 and 2007.
He also made blog postings promoting campaigns of several candidates, including individuals running for governor and state representative.
There have also been cases in Ohio.
