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The Hatch Act prohibits political activities by federal employees on the job. It only applies though to executive branch agencies. When the head of the Administrative Office of the U.S. courts enacted new rules for that agency’s employees that went even further than the Hatch Act, not everyone was on board. Two employees filed a lawsuit. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Federal News Network’s Eric White spoke with one of the attorneys involved. He’s legal director for the D.C. Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Art Spitzer.

Interview transcript:

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Arthur Spitzer: It’s an agency of about 1100 employees, part of the judicial branch of government. And so it’s not covered by the Hatch Act, which covers hundreds of 1000s or millions of executive branch employees around the country. So the judiciary has its own rules about political activity. It has some very strict rules that apply to judges themselves and their law clerks who assist them in citing cases. But these employees of the administrative office who mostly...

Read Full Story: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2022/09/why-judicial-branch-employe...