U.S. Office of Special Counsel  1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218  Washington, D.C. 20036-4505

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.