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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10/18/00
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984
    
        Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) filed a petition for disciplinary action against Mr. Jack Simmons, a Letter Carrier for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Jeff Davis County, Georgia, for violating the Hatch Act. OSC’s petition, filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), charges Mr. Simmons with violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition on being a candidate for elective office in a partisan election.

    According to OSC’s petition, local Postmaster Coite Dent, Mr. Simmons’s direct supervisor, gave Mr. Simmons a copy of the Hatch Act last spring. Regardless, in June 2000, he filed papers to run as an independent candidate in a partisan race for Sheriff of Jeff Davis County, in Georgia. According to OSC’s petition, Postmaster Dent, repeatedly, over the course of several months, continued to inform Mr. Simmons that his candidacy for Sheriff violated the Hatch Act.

    On September 18, 2000, OSC verbally informed Mr. Simmons that the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s race was partisan because another candidate was running as a Democrat and that his candidacy violated the Hatch Act. He was told that he must resign from his job or withdraw his candidacy. 

    On October 2, 2000, the OSC sent a formal warning letter to Mr. Simmons. That letter stated his candidacy was prohibited by the Hatch Act and that, we are providing you with the opportunity to correct your violation. You may withdraw your candidacy or you may resign from your position with the U.S. Postal Service.

    Nonetheless, to date, Mr. Simmons continues to be employed by the Postal Service and continues to campaign for Jeff Davis County Sheriff against a Democratic candidate.

    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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