U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL SEEKS DISCIPLINARY ACTION IN HATCH ACT CASE AGAINST U.S. POSTAL SERVICE LETTER CARRIER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10/4/00
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984

    Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) filed a petition for disciplinary action against Mr. Gary Lee Hicks, a part-time flex Letter Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Nevada County, Arkansas, for violating the Hatch Act. OSC’s petition, filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), charges Mr. Hicks with violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition on being a candidate for elective office in a partisan election.

    Mr. Hicks’ principal employment has been with the Postal Service as a part-time flex Letter Carrier. In early April 2000, Mr. Hicks filed papers to run as an independent candidate in a partisan race for Nevada County, Arkansas Sheriff. According to OSC’s petition, approximately two days later, Mr. Hick’s first-line supervisor verbally informed him that his candidacy violated the Hatch Act and that he must resign from his job or withdraw his candidacy. 

    On May 24, 2000, Mr. Hicks submitted a letter to the Postal Service resigning from his part-time position effective November 1, 2000. He also requested that his name remain on the hiring roster. Later that same day, the Postal Service informed Mr. Hicks that it would not accept his postdated resignation and that his candidacy for Sheriff continued to violate the Hatch Act. A few days later, according to OSC’s petition, Mr. Hicks’ first-line supervisor again told him that he must immediately resign from his position as a Letter Carrier or withdraw his candidacy.

    In early June 2000, OSC informed Mr. Hicks that the Nevada County, Arkansas Sheriff’s race was partisan because another candidate was running as a Democrat and that his candidacy violated the Hatch Act.  Nonetheless, to date, Mr. Hicks continues to be employed by the Postal Service and continues to campaign for Nevada County, Arkansas Sheriff against the incumbent, Democratic candidate Steve Otwell. A federal employee’s stated intention to resign his position in the future does not cure a violation of the Hatch Act.

    The penalty for a proven violation of the Hatch Act is the employee’s removal from employment or, if the Merit Systems Protection Board decides that removal is not warranted, a penalty of not less than a 30-day suspension. In addition, although the law is still unsettled regarding the availability of permanent debarment from federal employment in cases involving violations of the Hatch Act, OSC may pursue such a remedy in appropriate circumstances. 

    The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency. Among other things, it investigates and prosecutes complaints alleging violations of the Hatch Act, and provides advisory opinions on the Act’s requirements. 

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