Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act

The Hatch Act Enforcement Transparency and Accountability Act seeks to strengthen the Office of Special Counsel's (OSC) enforcement of Hatch Act provisions by increasing transparency and accountability. It defines "career" and "noncareer" employees, with a particular focus on allegations against the latter, who often hold politically appointed positions. The bill aims to ensure vigorous and consistent enforcement, irrespective of an individual's political affiliation or personal characteristics. The legislation requires the OSC to provide Congress with regular reports on complaints referred for disciplinary action, distinguishing between career and noncareer employees . Additionally, an annual report must detail covered allegations against noncareer and former noncareer employees, including the number of allegations received and investigated. A confidential addendum to this report will identify noncareer employees not investigated and describe the outcomes of allegations where processing ceased, and whether a complaint was presented to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and if civil penalties were collected. To further promote transparency, the bill mandates that the OSC publish detailed written explanations for decisions not to pursue complaints against noncareer employees found to have violated the Hatch Act, with some exceptions. It also requires the OSC to track and publicly display anonymized demographic statistics, such as race, sex, and disability status, for both career and noncareer employees who are subjects of Hatch Act allegations, covering the number of employees alleged, investigated, and those against whom complaints were presented to the Merit Systems Protection Board.