February 26, 2004Number range CHAPTER

Memorandum

To: Secretary

Assistant Secretaries

Special Trustee for American Indians

Inspector General

Heads of Bureaus and Offices

Through: Acting Solicitor /s/ *Roderick Walston*

From: Shayla Freeman Simmons /s/ *Shayla Freeman Simmons*

Designated Agency Ethics Official

Subject: Political Activity Under the \"Hatch Act\"

As this Presidential election year unfolds, it is important that all
employees understand the applicable statutory restrictions on political
activity. The "Hatch Act," as amended, 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321 et seq. (the
Act), establishes general provisions governing partisan political
activity for all federal employees. Under the Act's implementing
regulations, "political activity" is defined as activity directed toward
the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan
political office, or a partisan political group. 5 C.F.R. § 734.101. The
Act encourages and allows federal employees to actively participate in
the Nation's political processes, to the extent specific activities are
not expressly prohibited.

The Act's restrictions on employees are based on his or her official
position. Generally, most employees may engage in partisan political
management and partisan political campaigns during their off-duty time,
subject to specific restrictions that apply to broad categories of
employees. Very few employees may engage in political activity while on
duty or in uniform, in a government office, or using appropriated funds
or office equipment. Notably, some political activity is prohibited even
while off-duty. Appropriated funds may not be used for most kinds of
political activity, even where such activity is permissible during
official duty hours. When it is determined that appropriated funds have
been used improperly for political activity, the funds generally must be
repaid, subject to certain exceptions discussed in the attachments.

This memorandum outlines, both in narrative form and in charts for easy
reference, the freedoms and restrictions applicable to political
activity by all federal employees generally, as well as the differing
levels of restrictions applicable to federal employees.[^1] There are
three categories of federal employees under the Act, each with differing
levels of restrictions on political activity. The categories are
identified below:

-   **"PAS officials" (least restricted category) -** PAS officials are
    Presidential appointees appointed by the President with the advice
    and consent of the Senate. This category includes the Secretary,
    Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, Solicitor, Special Trustee
    for American Indians and most Heads of Bureaus.[^2] These employees
    generally are allowed to participate in political activity during
    duty hours, or while in government buildings, subject to specified
    restrictions.

-   **"Non-PAS employees" -** This category includes the vast majority
    of employees, including Schedule C, non-career SES, and all
    employees who are neither PAS officials nor included in the third
    category. This category includes full-time, part-time, temporary,
    and special government employees. Subject to some restrictions,
    these employees may participate in partisan political activities
    only when not on official duty and outside of government offices.

-   **Career SES members, Administrative Law Judges and members of the
    Board of Contract Appeals (most restricted category) -** Because of
    the unique characteristics of these positions, this category carries
    the greatest restrictions on the kinds of political activities in
    which employees and officials may participate while off-duty and
    away from government offices. Unlike other employees and officials,
    employees in this category may not engage in active political
    campaigning or political management while off-duty and away from
    government offices.

    By law, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigates
    allegations of violations of the Act, and prosecutes alleged
    violations before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). While
    the Act mandates that an employee who engages in prohibited
    political activity will be removed from his or her position, the
    MSPB may find that a violation does not warrant removal and impose a
    penalty of not less than 30 days' suspension without pay.

    During a political season such as this, official participation in
    activities and events must be closely analyzed in advance to
    determine whether the participation is political in nature and
    therefore prohibited or permissible under the Hatch Act. As a
    general matter, any event or appearance at which contributions to a
    partisan political candidate or political party are solicited, or at
    which the election or defeat of such a candidate or a party is
    advocated, will be presumed to be political activity subject to
    appropriate Hatch Act restrictions. The OSC advises that virtually
    all party-sponsored events between now and election day -- even
    so-called "non-partisan issue events" -- will be considered to be
    political activity.

    To avoid even potential violations of the Act, I urge you to become
    familiar with the information in this memorandum, and to seek
    appropriate advice and guidance in advance of your participation in
    any activity that may fall within the prohibitions of the Act. You
    may seek this advice from appropriate sources in the Solicitor's
    Office (the Ethics Office, the Division of General Law or the local
    Field or Regional Solicitor's Office). Please circulate a copy of
    this memorandum and its attachments to all of your employees.

    Attachments

    **Attachment 1**

    **Summary of Rules Governing Political Activity Under the Hatch
    Act**

    This summary outlines some of the basic rules governing political
    activity.

    I. Definition of Political Activity

    Political activity is defined as activity directed toward the
    success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan
    political office, or a partisan political group. 5 C.F.R. § 734.101.

    II\. Basic Restrictions on Political Activity

    No government funds may be expended in connection with political
    activity. Government offices may not be used to house day-to-day
    operations of a campaign. No campaign-related printed communication
    can bear official letterhead, the Great Seal, or terms such as
    \"official business,\" nor may it be mailed in a franked envelope.
    Government publications may not contain any endorsements or
    advertisements.

    Political organizations must reimburse the government for the cost
    of permissible political activity (such as that undertaken by PAS
    officials[^3]). The OSC has advised that political organizations
    need not reimburse for isolated, minor, incidental costs that the
    government would have incurred regardless of whether the activity
    was political, such as the cost of electricity or heat for the
    building, or the cost of each e-mail or local phone call or fax. A
    rule of thumb to apply here is to liken it to the Department's
    policy on limited personal use of government equipment and
    telephones (June 14, 2000). (This policy is available on the Ethics
    Office web page at
    [http://www.doi.gov/ethics](http://www.doi.gov/ethics).)).
    Similarly, where the calculation of an isolated minute expense would
    lead to absurd results, such as where the calculation would cost
    more than the reimbursement would yield to the Government, the
    political organization need not reimburse. Such determinations
    should be made in consultation with the Solicitor's Office. This *de
    minimis* rule assumes that there is no pattern of use of government
    resources on a recurring, non-incidental basis, and that the use is
    not part of a generally reimbursable event, such as mixed official
    and political travel by a PAS official, as such use would require
    reimbursement (See Section VI. below).

    Political organizations may not reimburse the government for use of
    on-duty non-PAS employee's time. Employees who may actively engage
    in political activity during off-duty hours may be paid by a
    campaign or political committee for such off-duty work, subject to
    other applicable restrictions.[^4]

    III\. Permissible Political Activities by PAS Officials

    If the following activities are undertaken subject to reimbursement
    for any expenditure of government funds, PAS officials **MAY:**

▪ Take an active part in or manage a political campaign:

▪ While on official duty;

▪ In a room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties; or

▪ While wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the
individual\'s office or position.

▪ Attend and speak at political fundraisers but **may not** solicit
contributions, funds or services.

▪ Publicly endorse candidates in their official capacity.

▪ Travel to campaign and political events.

**Use of Government Cars:** Under the Hatch Act, PAS officials may
engage in political activity using a vehicle owned or leased by the
Federal government. **Under Departmental policy, however, only the
Secretary and Deputy Secretary may use a government vehicle while
engaged in political activity, subject to reimbursement by the political
sponsor.**

IV\. Political Activities by Employees Other Than PAS Officials

For purposes of the restrictions on political activity, there are two
categories of employees other than PAS officials:

▪ "Non-PAS employees," which includes Schedule C, non-career SES, and
all other employees except PAS, career SES members, administrative law
judges, and members of the Interior Board of Contract Appeals.

▪ Career SES members, Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and members of
the Board of Contract Appeals.

Subject to some restrictions, non-PAS employees may participate in
partisan political activities only when outside of official duty status
and government offices. Career SES employees, ALJs, and members of the
Board of Contract Appeals have additional restrictions on the political
activities in which they may engage while off-duty and away from
government offices. ***Refer to the attached charts for a specific list
of permissible and prohibited political activities for these
categories.***

V. Interaction Between PAS Officials and Other Employees and Officials

PAS officials may undertake certain political activities while on duty;
however, there are a number of restrictions regarding interactions with
all other employees, who may not participate in political activity while
on duty.

***NOTE:*** Reference in this section (Section V only) to non-PAS
officials ***includes*** career SES, ALJs, and members of the Board of
Contract Appeals.

▪ PAS officials should not invite non-PAS employees to attend a
political event unless the event takes place before or after duty hours
or on lunch break.

▪ PAS officials may not ask non-PAS assistants or other staff to make
calls and set up appointments related to campaign activity. Only PAS
officials may be involved in political activity while on official duty
time.

***▪ Limited qualification:*** A scheduler and other employees whose
official duties so require may perform minimal routine administrative
tasks related to a senior official\'s travel. Such tasks might include
scheduling meetings, answering questions about an official's
availability, or assuring that the official's activities are consistent
with Hatch Act requirements. Any direct assistance to a political
committee regarding setting up or organizing an event itself -- or other
tasks that are "purely political" in nature or relate solely to the
senior official's political activities -- must be performed during
off-duty hours and with equipment that does not belong to the
Government.

▪ Consistent with the qualification described above, employees whose
official duty requires travel with PAS officials must be off-duty in
order to attend a political event unless the employee is performing
official Governmental duties while at the event.

▪ PAS officials may not ask non-PAS employees to prepare reports or
other materials for a political event. However, the PAS official may
make use of such reports or other materials that were prepared in the
ordinary course of business.

▪ A speech writer may write political speeches during lunch hour or
other off-duty hours. Speeches originally written for official business
purposes may be used for political purposes, but such speeches should
not be modified for political use during duty hours. In any case no
writing or modification of such speeches may be done on Government
equipment.

VI\. Travel Expenses

A. **Non-PAS employees:** Because non-PAS employees may not engage in
political activity during official duty hours, they may not use
appropriated funds to pay for any political activity, and must avoid
subsidizing political activity. Therefore, it is important to coordinate
carefully any political activities in which a non-PAS intends to
participate while on official travel.

B. **DOI Political Appointees:** Departmental policy requires that all
non-career SES and Schedule C employees must provide the Chief of Staff,
through the Ethics Office, written justification and obtain approval in
advance for any political activity conducted on their own time while on
official travel. In making their travel plans and submitting their
requests for approval, non-career SES and Schedule C employees should
consider the approval criteria below:

**CRITERIA FOR CHIEF OF STAFF APPROVAL OF OFFICIAL TRAVEL BY NON-CAREER
SES AND SCHEDULE C EMPLOYEES WHEN POLITICAL EVENTS ARE EXPECTED TO
OCCUR**

▪ Ensure that the travel is necessary to conduct the official business
of the Department and there are NO factors indicating that the trip was
planned or timed primarily to allow participation in political activity.

▪ Consider the appearance of the misuse of position that may result and
the risk associated with that appearance even when all of the facts
justify both the travel and the political activity.

▪ Consider whether and how many other Departmental employees should be
on official travel to the same place and participate in the same
political event.

▪ If leave is requested during the travel period, ensure that no
extraordinary arrangements are made to accommodate the work of the
office.

▪ Consider any pattern of behavior that might apply to a given situation
when applying the criteria above and put the determination in writing.

C. **PAS employees:** Although PAS employees may participate in
political activity during duty hours, appropriated funds may not be used
to pay for the political activity (except for isolated *de minimis*
expenses, as discussed above). Therefore, the costs relating to the
portion of a PAS's official travel that will be devoted to political
activity must be paid by a candidate\'s campaign committee or by the
party. In accordance with applicable White House guidance and 5 C.F.R. §
734.503, mixed official/political travel for PAS employees must be
allocated on a \"hard-event time\" basis; i.e., the total activity time
is calculated by adding time spent on official activity to time spent on
political activity. The allocation of costs is made by applying to the
total cost, the percentage of time allocated respectively to political
and official activity. (**NOTE:** Expenses for travel related to the
Presidential campaign is covered by a different formula. Contact the
Solicitor's Office regarding any such travel.)

The following methods of paying for political travel on a mixed
official/political trip may be used:

-   The PAS official may pay the entire costs out of personal funds and
    be reimbursed by the appropriate entities. The PAS official may not
    use his or her government credit card, as certain expenses are
    charged directly to the card holder's appropriated funds account.

-   The PAS official may estimate in advance the potential allocation of
    official and political time and receive a travel advance from the
    government for the official share of expenses. The travel advance
    would be used to defray the official portion and the political
    committee would pay its share of expenses by check or credit card to
    the vendor.

-   The political committee may pay the costs of the trip and receive
    reimbursement from the government for the official share of the
    trip.

-   The political committee may pay the government in advance for the
    political share of the trip and the agency makes the necessary
    arrangements. Only when severe time constraints prevent advance
    reimbursement, as determined in advance by the Solicitor's Office,
    may the agency seek reimbursement after the trip.

    If an individual pays political travel expenses personally and
    intends to be reimbursed by the political organization, Federal
    Election Commission rules require that the request for reimbursement
    be submitted promptly and be received from the political committee
    within 60 days of the date on which they were incurred if the
    expenses were charged to a credit card and within 30 days if paid by
    any other method such as a check. These time guidelines are being
    strictly enforced. Employees should not assume that the political
    committee will promptly reimburse without follow-up from the
    employee. Expenses not reimbursed within the time limits count
    towards the dollar limits for contributions.

    D. **PAS and non-PAS employees:** If the travel is on behalf of a
    candidate for state or local office, state or local laws applying to
    political contributions or other political activity may apply and
    should be checked.

    VII\. Prohibition on Political Financial Contributions

▪ All employees are permitted to contribute money to political
candidates and campaigns

▪ Except for members of federal labor unions as described below, non-PAS
employees are prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or receiving any
political contributions.

▪ Employees are prohibited from soliciting, accepting, or receiving
volunteer services from subordinates for political activities.

▪ Employees who are members of federal labor organizations may solicit,
accept and receive contributions from any non-subordinate employee who
is a member of the same labor organization if the contribution is to the
labor organization\'s multi-candidate committee.

▪ No one may solicit, pay, or receive contributions in any federal
office or building.

VIII\. Miscellaneous Policy Highlights

-   Departmental policy prohibits the granting of leave without pay for
    political activity.

-   Departmental policy prohibits employees, other than the Secretary
    and Deputy Secretary, from using a government vehicle while engaging
    in political activities.

-   Non-PAS employees may work and be paid for partisan campaign work
    conducted during non-duty hours, subject to the applicable income
    limits discussed in Footnote 4.

-   Contacts with the President's campaign organization must be approved
    in advance by the White House Counsel's Office in accordance with
    the January 9, 2004 memorandum from the Counsel to the President
    (see Attachment 4).

    End of Attachment 1

    **Attachment 2**

    E**XAMPLES**

    **1. The Secretary, a Bureau Director (both PAS) and a staff member
    (non-career SES) are all on official travel. During the day they
    tour and attend meetings regarding operations at a Bureau site. At
    the end of the day all are invited to attend a fundraising dinner
    for a member of Congress running for re-election:**

-   May they attend the dinner? Yes. The Secretary and the Bureau
    Director may attend in their official capacity. However, the staff
    member may only attend in her personal capacity on her off-duty
    hours. Also, since they are all on official travel, the staff member
    must have written justification and prior authorization to mix
    official travel with political activities and may not be in an
    official uniform. When on travel, duty hours are calculated the same
    way that duty time is calculated when at one\'s official duty
    station.

-   Can they go to the dinner in a government vehicle? The Secretary
    (and Deputy Secretary) may use a government vehicle only under
    certain circumstances. Provided those circumstances are met, the
    Secretary may invite the Director and staff member to go along if
    there is space available. The campaign must pay the government in
    advance for the costs associated with using the vehicle for the
    Secretary.

-   During the evening, the Congresswoman running for re-election learns
    that the Secretary and the staff member will be in Denver the next
    day and she asks the Secretary if she would attend a fundraiser in
    Denver the next evening. The Secretary asks the staff member to call
    ahead to change the Secretary\'s official schedule in order to
    accommodate the request. May the staff member make the call? Yes,
    but only to rearrange the schedule, because this is a minimal
    routine administrative task.

    **2.** **During a staff meeting, a senior administration official
    (PAS) tasks his special assistant to call a government contractor.
    The purpose of the call is to advise the contractor that the
    campaign committee for a local partisan candidate will be issuing an
    invitation to a fundraising event. Is this permissible since neither
    the senior administration official nor the special assistant will be
    asking for donations directly?**

    All Federal employees are prohibited from soliciting contributions
    directly or indirectly for partisan political candidates. Further,
    any activities that would lead a contractor to believe that Federal
    benefits would be promised or denied based on political
    contributions is not permissible. The request by the PAS employee to
    the special assistant would be an improper solicitation of services.
    Also, while the PAS may engage in certain political activities
    during work hours and in the office, the special assistant and most
    other Federal employees are prohibited from engaging in political
    activity during duty hours and/or while at the office.

    **3.** **A senior administration official (PAS) is asked to make a
    speech at a fundraiser for a local partisan candidate while visiting
    Louisiana in her official capacity. May she speak at the fundraiser?
    Who pays for her travel?**

    Yes, she may speak at the fundraiser in her official capacity. In
    her speech she may thank the audience for attending and touch on
    such topics as furtherance of the programs/policies of the
    Administration and endorsement of the candidate. She may not
    however, directly or indirectly solicit contributions on behalf of
    the candidate at any event. Whenever official and political travel
    are combined for a PAS official, the cost of the trip must be
    prorated between the sponsors of the event and the government.

    **4.** **An Assistant Secretary (PAS) and a senior political
    appointee (non-career SES) are invited to attend an all-day campaign
    planning meeting. May they attend?**

    Both may attend. However, the senior political appointee must take
    annual leave if the meeting occurs at a time that he would otherwise
    be on duty. PAS employees are on duty 24 hours a day and thus are
    excepted from the rule against political activity during working
    hours. If this situation were to occur while both are on official
    travel status, the senior political appointee must still use his own
    time and, in addition, he must have written justification and prior
    authorization to attend.

    **5.** **A Bureau Director (PAS) has set up meetings related to
    advancing the partisan goals of her party. The meetings will be held
    in her office during working hours. There is so much to do to
    prepare that she asks her special assistant (Schedule C) to assist.
    In turn the Special Assistant asks the rest of the staff if they
    would be willing to stay after work to finish the preparations. May
    they help out?**

    It is permissible for the Bureau Director to set up the meeting
    during office hours. It is not permissible for her to solicit a
    contribution of services from her special assistant, nor is it
    permissible for the special assistant to undertake any political
    activities during official duty hours or in government facilities.
    Further, it is improper for the special assistant to solicit a
    contribution of services from the rest of the staff. It is
    permissible for the Special Assistant and staff members to volunteer
    to help on their own time, away from the office.

    **6.** **The wife of a Schedule C employee has decided to run for
    Congress and wishes to hold a fundraiser in her home. May the
    Schedule C employee participate in the fundraiser? Sign or endorse
    the invitation? Make speeches during the fundraiser? Collect
    money?**

    The Schedule C employee may actively campaign for his wife away from
    his government office and while not on duty. He may distribute
    literature, stuff envelopes, attend fundraisers, and make speeches
    encouraging people to vote for his wife. His wife may have a
    fundraiser in the family\'s home and the employee may attend.
    However, the Schedule C employee may not sign the invitation to the
    fundraiser and may not solicit donations either in speeches,
    conversation, or in written form. If, while attending a fundraiser,
    a guest attempts to give a donation to him, he should refer the
    donor to his wife, her campaign treasurer or other campaign
    official.

    **7.** **A partisan political candidate calls his friend, a Schedule
    C employee in the Department, to request an appointment with a
    Bureau Director and to discuss an upcoming campaign. May the
    employee take the call?**

    If it is part of his official responsibilities to keep the
    Director\'s schedule, he may make the appointment. If not, he should
    refer the caller to the Director\'s appointments secretary. In no
    case should he discuss the campaign at the office. He should tell
    her that he is unable to discuss the campaign during office hours,
    but he may call back from home later that evening.

    **8.** **Several Schedule C employees have been approached by a
    candidate from their State and invited to be \"extras\" in her
    upcoming campaign video. Some have even been asked to give \"citizen
    testimonials\" in the video.** **May they do so?**

    Yes. As long as they do not use their official positions, they do
    not solicit contributions, it is not during duty hours, on
    government premises, wearing a government uniform, or in a
    government vehicle, they may participate in the video and other
    voter identification/ outreach activities. They may sign \"citizen
    testimonials,\" in their private capacity, that will be published in
    the newspaper, provided the newspaper text does not solicit
    contributions. Further, the employees may be actively involved in
    passing out flyers, making cold calls, canvassing neighborhoods,
    holding voter registration drives, driving voters to the polls, and
    other similar activities.

    **Attachment 3 - Easy Reference Charts**

    **RESTRICTIONS ON POLITICAL ACTIVITY**

    **ALL FEDERAL EMPLOYEES**

    **MAY** **MAY NOT**

    ! Run for public office in nonpartisan elections.

    ! Register and vote in any election.

    ! Express their **personal** opinions, privately or in public, on
    political subjects and/or candidates.

    ! Sign a political petition;

    ! Campaign for or against referendum questions, constitutional
    amendments, municipal ordinances, etc.

    ! Attend a political convention, fund raising function, or any other
    such gathering. Active participation in such events is governed by
    the three separate sets of specific rules.

    ! Make a financial contribution to a political party or
    organization.

    ! Run for public office in partisan elections, except as a
    non-partisan candidate in elections for local office in designated
    communities.

    ! Use Government funds to support political activity.

    ! Directly or indirectly solicit campaign contributions from the
    general public.

    ! Solicit or receive campaign contributions on federal property or
    in federal buildings.

    ! Solicit or accept a campaign contribution or campaign support in
    exchange for a promise to appoint someone to a federal job.

    ! Promise or withhold federal benefits (jobs, grants, contracts,
    etc.) based on political support or nonsupport.

    ! Penalize employees or withhold employment in order to induce
    someone to make a political contribution or otherwise participate in
    political activity.

    ! Require subordinate government employees to work on campaign
    activities.

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **PERMITTED POLITICAL ACTIVITY BY |                                   |
| CATEGORY OF EMPLOYEES**           |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **PAS EMPLOYEES (except IG)**     | **NON-PAS**[^5] **EMPLOYEES**     |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|  May take an active part in or   |  May take an active part in or   |
| manage a political campaign while | manage a political campaign while |
| on official duty.                 | on non-official (off duty) time.  |
|                                   |                                   |
|  May take an active part in      |  May take an active part in      |
| political activities in premises  | political activities off          |
| occupied in the discharge of      | government premises, including    |
| official duties.                  | holding party office              |
|                                   |                                   |
|  May participate in political    |  May not wear a uniform or       |
| activities while wearing a        | official insignia identifying the |
| uniform or official insignia      | individual\'s office or position  |
| identifying the individual\'s     | when participating in political   |
| office or position.               | activities.                       |
|                                   |                                   |
|  May attend and speak at         |  May not engage in political     |
| political fundraisers but may not | activities using a Government     |
| solicit contributions, funds, or  | vehicle.                          |
| services.                         |                                   |
|                                   |  May attend and speak at         |
|  May publicly endorse candidates | political fundraisers on off duty |
| in their official capacity.       | time, but may not solicit         |
|                                   | contributions, funds, or          |
|  May travel to campaign and      | services.                         |
| political events.                 |                                   |
|                                   |  May publicly endorse candidates |
|  May use their Government office | in their private capacity.        |
| to hold occasional campaign       |                                   |
| meetings.                         |  May travel to campaign and      |
|                                   | political events on personal      |
|  May not engage in political     | time.                             |
| activities using a Government     |                                   |
| vehicle. (Secretary/Deputy        |  May work for (be employed by)   |
| Secretary excepted under certain  | or be paid by a campaign or       |
| circumstances.)                   | political committee on their own  |
|                                   | time.                             |
|  May not be employed by or be    |                                   |
| paid by a campaign or political   |  Non-career SES and Schedule C   |
| committee.                        | employees may not mix official    |
|                                   | travel and political activity     |
|  May attend political events     | without written justification and |
| while on official time.           | prior authorization.              |
|                                   |                                   |
|  May write political speeches on |  May not use their Government    |
| official time.                    | office to hold any meetings with  |
|                                   | campaign staff and may not attend |
|  May not use non-PAS assistants  | such meetings held by PAS during  |
| or other staff to make calls and  | duty hours.                       |
| set up appointments for a         |                                   |
| political campaign or committee   |  May not attend political events |
| activity during duty hours.       | while on official time.           |
|                                   |                                   |
|  Must split costs and time for   |  May not write or assist others  |
| mixed travel between official and | in writing political speeches on  |
| political. The costs will be      | official time.                    |
| allocated between the Government  |                                   |
| and the political sponsor.        |  May not make calls, set up      |
|                                   | appointments, or use Government   |
|                                   | facilities or equipment for a     |
|                                   | political campaign or committee   |
|                                   | activity during duty hours.       |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   |  May not wear political buttons, |
|                                   | display bumper stickers or        |
|                                   | partisan campaign images at work. |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **OLITICAL ACTIVITY BY            |                                   |
| ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES, CAREER |                                   |
| SES EMPLOYEES, AND MEMBERS OF THE |                                   |
| BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS**       |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **MAY**                           | **MAY NOT**                       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| ! Run for public office in        | ! Run for public office in        |
| nonpartisan elections.            | partisan elections.               |
|                                   |                                   |
| ! Register and vote in any        | ! Use Government funds to support |
| election.                         | political activity.               |
|                                   |                                   |
| ! Assist in non-partisan voter    | ! Directly or indirectly solicit  |
| registration drives.              | campaign contributions from the   |
|                                   | general public. This includes     |
| ! Actively participate in         | collecting contributions or       |
| campaigns only where no           | selling tickets to political fund |
| candidates represent a political  | raising events.                   |
| party.                            |                                   |
|                                   | !Campaign for or against a        |
| ! Contribute money to political   | candidate or slate of candidates  |
| organizations and attend          | in partisan elections, including  |
| political fundraising functions.  | making                            |
|                                   |                                   |
| ! Express **personal** opinions,  | campaign speeches or distributing |
| privately or in public, on        | campaign materials, or organizing |
| political subjects and/or         | political rallies or meetings.    |
| candidates.                       |                                   |
|                                   | !Circulate nominating petitions   |
| ! Sign a political petition,      | in partisan elections.            |
| including nominating petitions.   |                                   |
|                                   | !Hold office in political clubs   |
| ! Campaign for or against         | or parties                        |
| referendum questions,             |                                   |
| constitutional amendments,        | ! Work to register voters for one |
| municipal ordinances, etc.        | party only.                       |
|                                   |                                   |
| ! Join a partisan political club  |                                   |
| as member only and attend a       |                                   |
| political convention, fund        |                                   |
| raising function, or any other    |                                   |
| such gathering, but may not       |                                   |
| actively manage.                  |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| ! Make a financial contribution   |                                   |
| to a political party or           |                                   |
| organization.                     |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

[^1]: 1 ^1^The Act allows employees to take an active part in political
    management and political campaign, including running as an
    independent candidate, in partisan elections for local office in
    certain designated communities in the metropolitan Washington, D.C.
    area and other regions with large populations of federal employees.
    [See]{.underline} 5 U.S.C. 7325; 5 C.F.R. Part 733. This memorandum
    does not address participation in partisan elections for local
    office. Employees who wish to participate in partisan elections for
    local office should seek specific guidance from the Solicitor's
    Office prior to engaging in such political activity.

[^2]: 2 ^2^ The Director of the Minerals Management Service is not
    appointed by the President. Although the Inspector General is a PAS
    official, the position is excluded from this category by law and
    therefore is subject to the same restrictions on political activity
    during official duty hours as non-PAS employees. [See]{.underline} 5
    U.S.C. App. § 3(c); 5 C.F.R. § 734.502.

[^3]: 3 ^3^ PAS officials are those who are appointed by the President
    with the advice and consent of the Senate.

[^4]: 4 ^4^Under provisions in the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, non-career
    SES employees and certain other highly-paid non-career employees may
    not have outside earned income in any given calendar year that
    exceeds 15% of the salary for Executive Level II. Additionally, PAS
    officials shall not receive any outside earned income for outside
    employment or any other outside activity performed during the
    Presidential appointment under which they serve. [See]{.underline} 5
    C.F.R. § 2635.804; 5 C.F.R. Part 2636.

[^5]: 5 **Non-PAS means all employees except PAS, Career SES,
    Administrative Law Judges, and members of the Interior Board of
    Contract Appeals.**