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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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Head Start Official
Admits
To Violating Hatch Act
Executive Director of New Castle County (DE) Branch
Allowed Candidate to Give Campaign Speech, Distribute Literature,
Register Voters During
Mandatory Work Meeting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 2, 2006
CONTACT: LOREN SMITH, 202-254-3714,
lsmith@osc.gov
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the agency that enforces the prohibition on
political activity of certain State and local employees announced a settlement
with an official who had committed a violation. The U.S. Office of Special
Counsel, which enforces the Hatch Act, had filed a Petition for Disciplinary
Action against Jeffrey Benatti, Executive Director of New Castle County Head
Start (NCCHS), New Castle, Delaware. Under the terms of the settlement, Mr.
Benatti admitted that he violated the Hatch Act’s prohibition against using his
official authority or influence for the purpose of affecting or interfering with
the result of an election and agreed to be suspended from his position without
pay for thirty days.
OSC’s complaint, filed on July 10, 2006, with the
Merit Systems Protection Board, charged Mr. Benatti with using his official
authority to affect the results of an election by allowing Paul Donnelly, at the
time a NCCHS employee on leave of absence and a candidate for the U.S. House of
Representatives, to give a campaign speech to NCCHS employees during a mandatory
in-service meeting.
Benatti introduced the candidate at the meeting,
who then passed out campaign materials. Employees were also given the
opportunity to register to vote during the meeting. Employees testified that by
allowing the candidate to give a campaign speech, and by permitting voter
registration at the mandatory in-service meeting they felt Benatti was
attempting to obtain votes for that person.
NCCHS, a private, not-for-profit organization,
receives substantial federal Head Start grants from the Department of Health and
Human Services, and thus, is deemed a “state and local agency” for purposes of
the Hatch Act. Mr. Benatti is covered by the Hatch Act because, as Executive
Director, he has oversight and supervisory responsibilities over NCCHS,
including its federally funded programs. In addition, Mr. Benatti signed
assurances for NCCHS that it was in compliance with a variety of laws including
the Hatch Act.
Special Counsel Scott Bloch said, “This is a
textbook example of why the Hatch Act exists: to prevent turning the workplace
into a political tool for supervisors or others. The ban on campaign events in
workplaces such as these is clear. The coercive effect on employees is real
whenever the boss is seen as approving a candidate. All violators will be
prosecuted.”
***
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent
investigative and prosecutorial agency. Among other functions, OSC
investigates and prosecutes complaints alleging violations of the Hatch Act,
and provides advisory opinions on the Act. The Act restricts political
activity of individuals principally employed by state, county, or municipal
executive agencies with duties in connection with programs financed in whole
or in part by federal loans or grants. A covered employee may not use his
official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of an
election. When the MSPB finds that a State or local employee has violated
the Hatch Act and that the violation warrants removal of the employee, the
employing agency must dismiss the employee or forfeit a portion of the
federal funds, equal to two years’ salary of the employee. The employee may
also not be reappointed to a state or local position in that state for the
following eighteen (18) months.
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