Managers In Seattle Office Allegedly Urged Employees To Vote For Democrats

Potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits some federal employees from engaging in political speech in the workplace, are being investigated in a case involving FAA managers in Seattle.

Acting FAA administrator Michael Huerta said that the Office of Special Counsel has taken up the investigation, which he says is being taken "extremely seriously." The Associated Press reports that Huerta said no instructions on how to vote have been handed down by the agency or anyone else in the Obama administration.

The investigation stems from reports made public last week by a government transparency group that two managers in an FAA office in Seattle held a "mandatory meeting" in which they said the only sure way employees could keep their jobs was to vote for Democrats in November. The said that Republicans would cut the FAA budget, but Democrats would leave it alone. One of those holding the meeting was the FAA's associate director for aviation safety John Hikey.

According to a report in the New York Times, an e-mail exchange between FAA employees recounting Hikey's remarks is also part of the investigation. In the exchange, FAA employees discuss the remarks made at the meeting, which indicated that budget cuts and furlough were a greater possibility should Republicans win in November.

FMI: www.osc.gov