U.S. Office of Special Counsel  1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 201  Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3/31/03
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984               

    Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced the filing of a petition for disciplinary action against Ms. Glenda Payne Eudy, a Distribution Clerk with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in North Carolina. OSC’s petition, filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board, charges Ms. Eudy with violating the Hatch Act’s prohibition on being a candidate for elective office in a partisan election. 

    According to OSC’s petition, Ms. Eudy filed a notice announcing her candidacy as a Democrat for the North Carolina State House of Representatives, District 109, in July 2002. Following her announcement, Postal Service officials advised Ms. Eudy both verbally and in writing that her candidacy violated the Hatch Act and that she must immediately resign from employment with the Postal Service or withdraw her candidacy. Despite these warnings, Ms. Eudy’s name appeared on the official ballot in the September 10, 2002, primary election.

    As an employee of the Postal Service, Ms. Eudy is covered by the federal 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. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency. Among other functions, it investigates and prosecutes complaints alleging violations of the Hatch Act, and provides advisory opinions on the Act’s requirements.

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