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U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036-4505
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OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL SEEKS DISCIPLINARY ACTION IN HATCH ACT CASE
AGAINST ALABAMA STATE EMPLOYEE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 5/3/04
CONTACT: CATHY DEEDS
(202) 254-3600
Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel
(OSC) filed a complaint for disciplinary action against Ronald Grantland, an
Area Administrator with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) in
Montgomery. OSC’s complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)
charges Mr. Grantland with violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition against
being a candidate for elective office in a partisan election.
As an Area Administrator for a state agency, ADPH, Grantland
is covered by the Hatch Act. His primary job duties are in connection with
federal grants issued by the United States Departments of Agriculture and
Health and Human Services.
OSC’s petition alleges that in 2002, Grantland ran as the
Democrat candidate for re-election to the Alabama House of Representatives,
District 9. He was first elected to this office in 1998. This was a partisan
election within the meaning of the Hatch Act because the candidates
represented the Democrat and Republican parties, among others.
During Grantland’s 2002 candidacy, ADPH notified him about
the Hatch Act and that his candidacy may conflict with the Act.
The Hatch Act strictly prohibits state and local employees
who have duties in connection with federally-funded programs from being
candidates in partisan elections. The penalty for a proven violation of the
Act by a state or local employee is removal of the employee from his/her
position by the state/local agency and debarment from state/local employment
for the following eighteen months, or forfeiture of federal grant funds by
the state/local agency in an amount equal to two years of the salary of the
employee.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent
investigative and prosecutorial agency. Its primary mission is to safeguard
the merit system in federal employment by protecting federal employees and
applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation for
whistleblowing. It also investigates and prosecutes complaints alleging
violations of the Hatch Act and provides advisory opinions on the Act’s
requirements.
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