Office of Special Counsel

Henry Kerner, the special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, explains why the Hatch Act still matters after 80 years on the books and what would happen if it went away.

While the intent of the Hatch Act provisions restricting federal workers may be sound, the result is, in effect, muzzling many federal workers and depriving them of their First Amendment rights

In today’s Federal Newscast, the House Homeland Security Committee passed the Rights for Transportation Security Officers Act. The bill would move screeners at the Transportation Security Administration under the General Schedule, a move that would likely mean a pay raise.

The American Federation of Government Employees is seeking immediate relief from Office of Special Counsel guidance on Hatch Act violations, which the union argues limits employees’ First Amendment rights to talk about the impeachment of President Donald Trump. AFGE has an ongoing lawsuit on the matter in a federal district court.

An Energy Department employee violated the Hatch Act when she gave a tour of a nuclear waste treatment plant to a congressional candidate, the Office of Special Counsel said Thursday. The employee has resigned and agreed to a three-year debarment from federal employment.

In an extended in-studio interview on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, Special Counsel Henry Kerner offered a summary of last year’s work.

FAA “culture of noncompliance” puzzles the Office of Special Counsel.

In today’s Federal Newscast, the Office of Special Counsel is reporting air traffic controllers in Jacksonville are not complying with the proper procedures, and their managers aren’t doing much to help.

Federal employees, members of Congress and good government governments remember the late House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman, Elijah Cummings, as a champion for the federal workforce and a staunch and vocal supporter of whistleblowers.

In today’s Federal Newscast, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, says as cyber threats become more sophisticated, bringing back the cyber coordinator role is even more important.