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A notice sent by the Office of Special Counsel earlier this month to remind federal employees of limits on political activities in the workplace has sparked controversy.

Special Counsel Scott Bloch decided to issue the notice after OSC received complaints regarding campaign activities on federal property, said spokeswoman Cathy Deeds.

"During this busy campaign season, we want federal employees to be scrupulous about the restrictions concerning the use of their official position or federal property for campaign-related events or activities," Bloch stated. "The federal workplace must be free of undue influence and is no place for partisan campaign activity."

The Hatch Act prohibits executive branch employees and workers at state and local agencies that receive federal funding from campaigning on the job. More specifically, federal employees cannot use federal buildings or land for campaign events, including meetings, rallies, parades, speeches, fund-raisers, press conferences, photo opportunities, and "meet and greets."

The law also bans government workers from handing out campaign pamphlets in federal offices. Penalties for violating the Hatch Act range from a 30-day suspension to a firing.

"Federal agencies should ensure that candidates who visit their facilities to conduct official business do not engage in any political campaign or election activity during the visit," the OSC notice stated.

"This opinion, however, should not be interpreted as prohibiting federal employees from allowing members of Congress and other elected officials [to visit] federal facilities for an official purpose, to include receiving briefings, tours, or other official information," the notice continued.

But the leader of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., questioned the timing of OSC's reminder. The Special Counsel distributed the announcement to federal employees on Aug. 9, the day Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and running mate John Edwards made a campaign stop in Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park.

"By OSC's rationale, President Bush should not be allowed to use military bases, the Statue of Liberty, or any other facility receiving funds, for a political speech," said Jeff Ruch, the group's executive director, in a press statement. "But I doubt that OSC has cautioned the president's reelection campaign."

The Special Counsel's policy also would bar federal employees from having bumper stickers on cars they plan to park in government lots or drive to work functions, Ruch alleged. "Not surprisingly, the Bush-appointed Special Counsel has not mentioned, let alone defended, First Amendment rights of federal employees," Ruch stated. "The Special Counsel's heavy-handed message manages a rare trifecta of being simultaneously overbroad, hypertechnical and unworkable."

These allegations are misleading, according to Deeds. The statement was not directed at either presidential campaign, she said, as the Hatch Act does not apply to the president, vice president or members of Congress. And some of the information in the interest group's press release is inaccurate.

For instance, OSC doesn't have jurisdiction over military bases and doesn't interpret the prohibition on use of "property" so broadly as to include national parks, such as Grand Canyon, Deeds said. Political bumper stickers are permitted on cars parked in government lots, she added.

The OSC Web site contains further information on activities prohibited under the Hatch Act, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Day in Court

The American Federation of Government Employees contends that a recent court ruling opens the door for the cases of screeners with the Transportation Security Administration to be heard in federal court.

Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Tuesday that a former TSA screener can file a First Amendment motion in federal court.

James Ferace was employed as a screener at Pittsburgh International Airport until being terminated in July 2003. With the help of AFGE, Ferace filed a lawsuit alleging that he was improperly terminated for union activity.

TSA asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but the court on Tuesday decided to let it proceed.

The court said that, although "the effective functioning of the workforce of federal airport security screeners" is undeniably a matter of significant government interest, TSA failed to show how this interest was compromised by Ferace's open support of union membership.

The court also concluded that Ferace sufficiently alleged that his union organizing activity was a substantial factor for his termination.

"Since TSA's inception, AFGE has strenuously fought to protect the beleaguered federal screening workforce from TSA management's unbridled disregard for their constitutional and statutory rights," Anne Wagner, AFGE's assistant general counsel, said in a statement. "The district court's decision represents the first time that a court has been willing to address these unlawful actions of TSA management."

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