{"id":28259,"date":"2026-03-19T05:02:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=28259"},"modified":"2026-03-19T05:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:05:18","slug":"hatch-act-compliance-what-government-employees-and-managers-need-to-know-about-political-activity-restrictions-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/hatch-act-compliance-what-government-employees-and-managers-need-to-know-about-political-activity-restrictions-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatch Act Compliance: What Government Employees and Managers Need to Know About Political Activity Restrictions in 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you manage compliance training for a government or public sector organization, the Hatch Act is one of those laws that can quietly create serious liability for your employees, your managers, and your agency if your workforce does not clearly understand it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The law has been on the books since 1939, but 2025 brought enforcement changes that make it more important than ever to ensure your teams are working from current, accurate guidance. What federal employees were trained on two years ago may now be partially outdated. And in a workplace where a single social media post or a casual comment to a subordinate can trigger an investigation, that gap in social media compliance training<\/a> matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

This blog is a breakdown of what the Hatch Act<\/a>\u00a0actually covers, what changed recently, what the real penalties look like, and where the gray areas are that your teams are most likely to trip over.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who the Hatch Act Actually Covers<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Hatch Act<\/a> covers\u00a0almost every\u00a0civilian employee in the federal executive branch: full-time, part-time, and even employees on annual leave, sick leave, furlough, or leave without pay. The U.S. Postal Service is included. The only people exempt at the top are the President and Vice President.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For state, local, and D.C. government employees, coverage depends on whether the employee works in connection with programs that are financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants. This pulls in a wide range of public sector workers across health, housing, transportation, law enforcement, employment security, anti-poverty programs, and more. Even employees of private nonprofit organizations receiving federal Head Start or Community Services Block Grant funds can be covered.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The practical implication for you: if your agency touches federal funding in any way, you\u00a0likely have\u00a0covered employees in your workforce, even if they do not think of themselves as “federal employees” in the traditional sense.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The Two Categories Every Manager Must Know<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Federal employees fall into one of two categories under the Hatch Act<\/a>, and the distinction\u00a0determines\u00a0how much political activity is\u00a0permitted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Less Restricted Employees<\/span><\/b>\u00a0make up the majority of the federal workforce.\u00a0They can\u00a0participate\u00a0in partisan political campaigns and party management\u00a0on\u00a0their own personal time, away from the workplace. They can volunteer for campaigns, donate money, attend rallies, hold party\u00a0office, and\u00a0campaign for\u00a0candidates,\u00a0as long as\u00a0they are off duty and not using government resources or their official title.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Restricted Employees<\/span><\/b>\u00a0face a much tighter set of rules. They cannot take an active part in partisan political management or campaigns at all, not even\u00a0on\u00a0personal time. This category includes employees at the FBI, CIA, NSA, Secret Service, FEC, Election Assistance Commission, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and the National Security Council, among others. It also includes all career Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, Administrative Law Judges, Contract Appeals Board Members, and Administrative Appeals Judges, regardless of which agency they work in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For managers in SES positions, this is particularly important. The Further Restricted designation follows the position, not the agency.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What No One Can Do, Regardless of Category<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Despite the two-tier system, there is a set of prohibitions that apply universally to every covered employee, at every level, in every agency.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No employee may use their official authority or title to influence an election. No employee may invite or suggest to a subordinate that they attend a political event or engage in partisan activity. No employee may\u00a0solicit\u00a0or accept political contributions from anyone who has business pending before their office. And no employee may engage in any partisan political activity while on duty, in a federal building, wearing a uniform or insignia, or using a government vehicle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That last point is where a\u00a0significant number\u00a0of violations\u00a0actually happen, because “on duty” includes telework hours, and “federal building” is where most of your workforce spends their day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media Is Where Your Teams Are Most at Risk<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The single highest-risk compliance area in your workforce today is social media. Hatch Act social media rules<\/a> are detailed, and they apply whether an employee is using a government device or a personal phone, and whether their account is public, private, or anonymous.<\/p>\n

While on duty or in the workplace, no employee may post, share, like, retweet, or forward content that supports or opposes a partisan political party, candidate, or partisan political group. This applies even during a lunch break, if the employee is still physically present in a federal building, regardless of whether they are in a paid status at that moment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Around the clock, no employee, regardless of whether they are at work, may use their official title to endorse a candidate, or send any message that asks others to donate to a partisan group or candidate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Further Restricted employees face\u00a0additional\u00a0limits even\u00a0off-duty: they may not share or link to the account of a partisan campaign or political\u00a0group, and\u00a0may not retweet content from a candidate or partisan political organization.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One practical issue that training often misses: LinkedIn. If an employee includes their official job title in their LinkedIn profile headline, that headline\u00a0accompanies\u00a0every action they take on the platform. That means any political content they post or share on LinkedIn while that headline is visible could constitute Hatch Act activity in an official capacity, even if they never intended it that way.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Supervisors face a particular exposure here. Sending a subordinate a message, even a forward or a like, that shows support for a partisan candidate or group can\u00a0constitute\u00a0improper use of official authority, even\u00a0through\u00a0a personal account.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Changed in 2025 and Why Your Training Content May Be Outdated<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In April 2025, OSC rescinded the advisory opinions issued in May 2024 and October 2024 under the prior administration and reverted to guidance that was last published in November 2020.<\/p>\n

First, employees may now wear campaign paraphernalia in the workplace, provided the items do not support someone who is actively running for office. Items from the 2024 election cycle, for example, are now generally permissible, as the prior year-round prohibition has been lifted. However, items supporting or opposing a current candidate remain off limits.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, Hatch Act violations<\/a> committed by\u00a0<\/span>White House commissioned officer<\/span>s will be referred to the President for disciplinary action rather than the MSPB. This change only affects a narrow category of political appointees, but it is a structural shift in accountability worth noting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, and this one matters for your documentation and recordkeeping practices,\u00a0<\/span>OSC confirmed in December 2025 that it would resume pursuing Hatch Act complaints against former federal employees, after pausing such cases earlier in the year<\/span>. An MSPB Administrative Law Judge ruled that\u00a0jurisdiction\u00a0exists even after someone has left federal service. OSC is no longer pausing complaints against former employees, and it will pursue cases where\u00a0warranted. This means the Hatch Act obligations employees carry do not simply disappear when they resign or retire.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The law itself has not changed. Only certain enforcement policies have. Your training content needs to reflect the current policies, not the rescinded 2024 guidance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Real Penalties Are Serious<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Hatch Act<\/a> is not\u00a0a bureaucratic\u00a0technicality. Penalties for violations range from a formal reprimand all the way to removal from federal service, reduction in grade, or debarment from federal employment for up to five years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The civil penalty maximum, adjusted annually for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, currently stands at $1,365, effective July 22, 2025. Any training materials or policy documents your teams use that still cite “$1,000” are outdated and should be corrected.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For state and local employees, the penalty structure carries agency-level consequences as well. If the MSPB\u00a0determines\u00a0a\u00a0violation\u00a0warrants\u00a0dismissal, the employing agency must either remove the employee or\u00a0forfeit\u00a0federal\u00a0assistance\u00a0equal to two years of that employee’s salary. If the removed employee is re-hired by another state or local agency within\u00a018 months, that agency may also lose federal funding.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These are not theoretical outcomes. In fiscal year 2025, OSC received 694 new Hatch Act complaints and resolved 711 cases, a significant jump from 458 complaints the prior year. Real employees faced real suspensions, removals, and fines. One employee from a U.S. Attorneys’ Office received a seven-day unpaid suspension after sharing Facebook posts\u00a0soliciting\u00a0donations for a family member’s partisan primary campaign. A Pentagon Force Protection Agency employee faced charges for running for sheriff after receiving explicit warnings not to.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gray Areas That Will Test Your Teams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A few areas consistently generate questions and violations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees who hold two jobs, one with a federal agency and one elsewhere, are assessed based on whichever job accounts for the most work time and earned income. The one that qualifies as “principal employment”\u00a0determines\u00a0which set of rules applies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Candidacy for office is an area with nuance. Less Restricted employees may run in nonpartisan elections. Further Restricted employees may only run in nonpartisan elections as well. State and local employees may run for partisan office, unless their salary is 100% funded by federal grants or loans.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees may display a partisan political bumper sticker on a personally owned vehicle parked in a federal lot. However, any display that makes the vehicle look like a campaign vehicle crosses the line.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When an employee is uncertain, OSC provides Hatch Act advisory opinions at no cost. The Hatch Act Unit can be reached at (800) 854-2824, (202) 804-7002, or\u00a0<\/span>hatchact@osc.gov<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Employees are entitled to request a written opinion before taking action, and those opinions provide meaningful protection if followed in good faith.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Your Teams Need to Be Trained On<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Understanding the law is one thing. Building effective Hatch Act compliance training<\/a> that your workforce can apply correctly in everyday situations is another. Based on where violations consistently occur, these are the specific areas your teams need to cover.<\/p>\n