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USDA: Important political activitity reminder

USDA Office of Ethics
May 9, 2025

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The USDA Office of Ethics is providing this timely reminder of the applicable statutory restrictions on political activity imposed by the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326).

The Hatch Act generally prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities (those activities involving a political party or its candidates for elected office) while on duty, while in the government workplace, while wearing any uniform, badge, or insignia that identifies the employee as being a Forest Service or USDA employee or while using a government vehicle. 5 U.S.C. § 7324; 5 C.F.R. § 734.306. Under the Hatch Act, "political activity" is defined as any activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group. Violations of the Hatch Act are investigated by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. If it has been determined that an employee violated the Hatch Act, OSC can seek to impose serious penalties which may result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal employment. Remember, whenever you have an ethics or Hatch Act question, you can, and should, always contact the USDA Office of Ethics. You can easily contact the Office of Ethics advisors assigned to service the Forest Service (NRE Mission Area) at: Ethics-NRE@usda.gov.  

To remind USDA employees of our obligations under the Hatch Act, the USDA Office of Ethics is providing this summary of the six most important Hatch Act requirements that every employee needs to know if you choose to engage in partisan political activities:

You must be off duty: You can only engage in partisan political activity when you are off-duty and not in an official duty status. Some examples of when you are off duty would be those times when you are on annual leave, or before your official duty hours start, during your lunch break, or after your official duty hours end. This means that during work hours, whether you are working on-site, teleworking, or working remotely, if you are “on the clock” you cannot engage in partisan political activity of any kind. Important note: Even during those times when you are “off the clock” (such as while on a lunch break), you cannot engage in partisan political activity while you are in the federal workplace.

You must be off premises: This means that you may not engage in partisan political activity in buildings owned or leased by the federal government. No campaign buttons, campaign t-shirts, or posters for current political candidates may be displayed by federal employees in a government-owned building or leased office space. However, you may display a political bumper sticker on your personal car, even if it is parked in a government parking lot—however, if you use your car for official Forest Service, NRE, or USDA purposes to meet with stakeholders or entities that NRE or USDA work with, you will need to remove or cover up the bumper sticker during those times. Even when you are off site and off duty, you may not engage in partisan political activity while wearing an official government uniform (such as your Forest Service uniform), driving a government vehicle, or while using government resources (such as government-issued laptop computers). And remember, you can never display a political bumper sticker on a government-owned vehicle. Important note: The Hatch Act’s restrictions apply when you are in the federal workplace, even during your lunch break or after duty hours.

Don’t use your USDA position or job title to support a partisan political party, campaign, or candidate: You may not use or allow others to use your Forest Service or USDA position title or authority in conjunction with any political activity advocating for the success or failure of any political party, candidate or partisan political organization. This means, for example, that if you are advocating for an audience to vote for or against a candidate while you speak at a partisan political event—while off-duty and in your personal (unofficial) capacity—you cannot introduce yourself or allow others to introduce you using your official Forest Service or USDA position or title. And even if you don’t use your government job title, federal employees cannot themselves run in a partisan political campaign for elected office. While employees may run in completely non-partisan elections, the rules can be nuanced, so employees are strongly advised to first contact the USDA Office of Ethics to seek guidance in advance of running in a non-partisan election.    

There is a strict ban against any partisan political fundraising, including on social media: You may never ask or solicit others to contribute to a political party or to candidates for elected office. This ban applies 24 hours a day and seven days a week, meaning that the fundraising ban applies both when you are on duty as well as when you are off duty. This means that you cannot host or co-host a partisan political fundraising event. You also cannot solicit political campaign donations either verbally or via written correspondence, e-mail, or on any social media platforms, including, but not limited to: Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. Also, you may not collect, accept, or receive political contributions on behalf of a partisan candidate or political party.

While on duty, be mindful of the distinction between conversations between co-workers on current issues (permitted) and partisan political speech (not permitted): As noted above, political activity is defined under the Hatch Act regulations as “any activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group.” 5 C.F.R. § 734.101. However, the Hatch Act regulations do not prohibit an employee while on duty from engaging in informal conversations on current news topics where the employee does not tie such discussion to the success or defeat of a political party, candidate or partisan political organization. See 5 C.F.R. § 734.203. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has consistently noted that the Hatch Act does not prohibit employees at any time, including when they are on duty, from merely expressing their own personal opinions about current issues, such as healthcare reform, the Second Amendment and gun ownership, or abortion, because such expressions, without more, do not constitute political activity under the Hatch Act. However, such expressions would constitute political activity if tied to candidates or political parties. For example, while on official duty or in the workplace, an employee may not say, “If you disagree with healthcare reform, you should support candidate X.” Such an expression would be considered  political activity—i.e., activity directed at the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group—and would not be permitted while an employee is on duty, in any federal room or building, while wearing a government uniform, badge or official insignia, or using any federally owned or leased vehicle. See OSC website on the Hatch Act at: https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct-Federal.aspx#tabGroup13.

NOTE: This advisory only relates to the Hatch Act and does not address any other laws, rules, regulations or departmental directives or Forest Service policies that may apply to expressions about current issues while on duty, or in the workplace, while in uniform, or on official Forest Service social media platforms.  

No use of subordinates: If you are a supervisor, you may not solicit the participation of subordinates to engage in partisan political activities (for example, if you are attending a political rally, after work hours, you cannot ask a subordinate employee to attend with you).

Important note: Career Senior Executive Service employees and Administrative Judges are under further, and more stringent, restrictions and are advised to consult first with the USDA Office of Ethics prior to engaging in any partisan political activities.

Questions? Further resources are available: For those wanting more information, the USDA Office of Ethics has created an engaging animated video: “The Hatch Act Illustrated and Explained” available on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCYVTYDmv0g.

Additionally, immediately below is a handy list of long-distance Ethics and Hatch Act resources created by the USDA Office of Ethics that are available on demand to assist employees in complying with these important requirements.

Ethics and Hatch Act resources to assist you

Natural Resources and Environment Mission Area (U.S. Forest Service): Email Ethics-NRE@usda.gov

Ethics resources available on demand, 24 hours a day

To further assist you in understanding the ethics rules and complying with the Hatch Act’s requirements, the Office of Ethics has created several long-distance educational resources available to all USDA employees, on demand:

  • USDA’s Ethics website: Another resource is the USDA Ethics web site (search: “USDA Office of Ethics” on the web or go directly to the site at: www.usda.gov/ethics). The “Rules of the Road” Section of the USDA Ethics website provides information on the Hatch Act rules governing political activity and the Ethics rules generally.

  • The USDA Ethics mobile application (the USDA Ethics App): The USDA Ethics App is freely available by searching “USDA Ethics” on any smartphone app store on either Apple or Android devices. The USDA Ethics App comes pre-loaded on USDA official smartphone devices and is also freely available to everyone on personal smartphone devices. While on the Ethics App, employees can view several short videos about the Ethics rules and Hatch Act in the video section. There are also more Ethics and Hatch Act videos on USDA’s official YouTube page (details immediately below).

  • Ethics and Hatch Act videos: The Office of Ethics has created 41 videos on a wide array of ethics and Hatch Act topics. Employees can review the full playlist of videos by searching: “USDA Office of Ethics Playlist” on YouTube. The following linked videos, created by the USDA Office of Ethics, are available to you on demand 24 hours a day and can be viewed on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

As you can see, the USDA Office of Ethics has created several long-distance educational resources to help federal employees understand these important laws and adhere to these rules in the evolving hybrid work environment. And as always, if you have an ethics or Hatch Act question, please ask the USDA Office of Ethics—we are here to help.