Hatch Act

Hatch Act of 1939
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities
Enacted bythe 76th United States Congress
EffectiveAugust 2, 1939
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 76–252
Statutes at Large53 Stat. 1147
Codification
U.S.C. sections created5 U.S.C. §§ 73217326[1]
Legislative history
Major amendments
1993, 2012

The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law that prohibits civil-service employees in the executive branch of the federal government,[2] except the president and vice president,[3] from engaging in some forms of political activity. It became law on August 2, 1939. The law was named for Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico.[4] It was most recently amended in 2012.

  1. ^ "Political Activities". oge.gov. U.S. Office of Government Ethics. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Brown, Cynthia; Maskell, Jack (April 13, 2016). "Hatch Act Restrictions on Federal Employees' Political Activities in the Digital Age" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. p. 4. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Federal Employee Hatch Act Information". osc.gov. U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Hatch Act". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 13 June 2017.