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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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OSC Wins Removal Order
In Hatch Act Case
SBA Lawyer Engaged in Partisan Activity
in Government Offices
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 14, 2006
CONTACT: LOREN SMITH, 202-254-3714,
lsmith@osc.gov
In California, a lawyer for the Small Business
Administration has been ordered fired from his job due to extensive on-the-job
political activity, including widespread use of email while on government time,
to engage in political activity in furtherance of the Green Party.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel announced that on
August 9th, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board unanimously upheld an
earlier decision by an Administrative Law Judge and ordered the removal from
federal service of SBA attorney Jeffrey Eisinger for having engaged in partisan
political activity while on duty.
In a decision handed down on November 17th, 2005, ALJ Joseph Gontram had found, among other violations, that over a three-year
period Eisinger, an elected official of the California Green Party, received,
read, drafted or sent more than 100 emails through his government computer that
were directed toward the success of the Green Party. The extensive emails
concerned such politically charged issues as party fundraising opportunities,
outreach and recruitment plans, internal drafts of various party platforms, and
the planning of a state-wide Green Party political convention. The ALJ concluded
that “Eisinger’s political activities at work and in his government office were
continual and significant.”
In addition, the ALJ had found that throughout
his illegal activities, Eisinger knew that the Hatch Act prohibited federal
employees from engaging in partisan political activity while at work. He also
found that Eisinger had assured his supervisor – who was aware of his employee’s
off-duty political activism – that he would not entangle the agency in any
ethical or Hatch Act issues, an assurance that proved to be false. Eisinger had
earlier been suspended by SBA for misuse of the government email system.
The Board agreed with the ALJ’s reasoning and found
(again, unanimously) that the penalty of removal is warranted in this case.
Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch stated,
“Regardless of the specific technology used, it remains the law that government
resources must not be used for political activities. OSC is committed to full
enforcement of the Hatch Act.”
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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
regarding the Act’s requirements. For more information about OSC, please
visit our web site at www.osc.gov or call 1-800-872-1855.
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