On this day in history, Aug. 2, 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Hatch Act of 1939 — known formally as An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities — into U.S. federal law, according to History.com.
This legislation prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government from engaging in some forms of political activity, the same source indicated.
The president and vice president are exempt from this legislation.
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"The Hatch Act limits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C. and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs," the U.S. Office of Special Counsel states.
"The law’s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation."
The mission of the law is to keep federal employees from engaging in political activities while they’re on the job.
It was also designed to ensure federal employees don’t face political pressures as they perform their work, cited History.com.
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Violations of the Hatch Act carry serious penalties, which may result in disciplinary action or...
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