TDD# 1-800-846-5277
STATE OF
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
BATON ROUGE,
April 24, 2007
General Circular No. 001691
To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors
Subject: Reminder
of Prohibited Political Activities
Issue Date: April 24, 2007
This general circular is being issued to remind classified
state employees of the "do’s and don’ts" of political activity. It is important to remember that the
following restrictions apply to ALL elections, local, state and
federal.
Article 10, Section 9 of the State
Constitution and Civil Service Rules 14.1(e), (f), and (g) govern the political
activities of classified state employees. The United States Supreme Court has
recognized that a state has the right to limit the political activity of its
workers in order to ensure the enforcement and application of laws for the
common good and not for the good of one candidate or political party. The Supreme Court has also recognized the
right of a state to restrict such activity in order to avoid the appearance of
such support. This means that classified state employees
must avoid the ACTUAL support of a candidate, party, or faction and avoid the
APPEARANCE of giving such support.
State classified employees may not engage in political activities. When a violation of political activity restrictions occurs, the Department of State Civil Service will take corrective action. Corrective action may range from issuing a letter of admonishment to bringing the violator before the State Civil Service Commission for Investigation by Public Hearing.
Violations of these restrictions are extremely serious and can result in significant penalties. For example, in a recent decision, the State Civil Service Commission imposed a fifteen-day suspension without pay on a classified employee who was found to have made a small contribution to a candidate in a local election. The State Civil Service Commission has the authority to order disciplinary action up to and including termination from the classified state service.
The following activities are not considered prohibited political activities. We must caution you, however, that when there is a question, you should consult the Department of State Civil Service to avoid any violation and its consequences.
You may:
a. Serve as a poll commissioner or official watcher on behalf of a governmental entity at the polls.
b.
Publicly
support or oppose issues of public debate or election other than in support of or opposition to a
candidate or political party or faction.
c.
Sell services
that you regularly offer or sell for fair market value to a candidate or
political party or faction, even if doing so requires your presence at a fundraiser.
d. Be a member of a private organization that may, under certain circumstances, endorse a candidate for public office, so long as the primary purpose of the organization is not the support or opposition of candidates, political parties, or factions. However, when the organization does support or oppose a candidate, party, or faction, you may not take an active part in the management of the affairs of the organization—even in matters not related to that support or opposition.
e. Attend a free function open to the public where any or all of the candidates may speak or present their views.
Prohibited political activity is defined generally as any effort to support or oppose a candidate for election or a political party in an election, whether the election is for a state, local, national, or even out-of-state office. As a result of the prohibitions in the State Constitution, you cannot be forced to engage in the following acts either directly or indirectly, through your spouse or another person.
You may not:
The State Constitution further prohibits any person, whether a classified employee or not, from soliciting contributions from you for political purposes. The Constitution also prohibits any official in the State government from seeking to coerce you into engaging in political activity.
These political activity restrictions do not apply to the spouse of a classified state employee. For example, the spouse may place a sign supporting a candidate in the yard of the home shared with the classified employee so long as it is the true expression of the spouse. Similarly, the spouse may place a political bumper sticker on the vehicle usually operated by the spouse, even though the classified employee may sometimes appear in that vehicle. The goal of avoiding the appearance of support by the classified employee should be kept in mind.
Sometimes the spouse of the classified employee is a candidate for election to public office. In such case, the fact of support is taken for granted by people who know about the spousal relationship. Not everyone, however, may know that the classified employee is the spouse of the candidate, so the goal of avoiding the appearance of support by a classified employee may be offended. There are many activities in which a classified spouse may engage to support the candidate spouse without offending the goals of the political activity restrictions. We have listed some activities that spouses of candidates may and may not engage in. If your spouse is a candidate, and you have more specific questions, please contact the Department of State Civil Service to discuss this issue in detail.
A spouse of a candidate may:
A spouse of a candidate may
not:
d. Personally sell anything—including food—at any function that supports your spouse’s campaign.
e. Participate in any type of support of your spouse’s campaign while at work or on duty.
Violations of political activity restrictions should be
reported to the Department of State Civil Service, Accountability Division,
If you still have questions about what political activities you may or may not be involved in as a classified state employee, contact your Human Resources Office, or the Department of State Civil Service, P.O. Box 94111, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9111 or by phone at (225) 342-8272.
Sincerely,
s/Anne S. Soileau
Director