by William D. Luck
Permissible Political Activities
The current election season has given us our fair share of interesting conversations. As the election season gains momentum, it is important to review the types of political activities allowed to be conducted by Argonne employees, and those that are not.
Q: Can an Argonne employee be a candidate for office, or work for or otherwise support political candidates?
A: Argonne employees, in their personal capacities, and utilizing their own time and resources, may participate in electoral and other political activities. The Hatch Act, which limits in many respects the participation of federal employees in electoral politics, does not apply to Argonne employees.
However, Argonne employees may not engage in any political activity that would expend laboratory contract funds or utilize laboratory resources. This means that Argonne employees may not engage in political activities on work time and may not use Argonne equipment, such as telephones, computers, copy machines, or the internal mail system or computer network, for these purposes.
Q: Can an Argonne employee arrange for a candidate for office, including a current officeholder, to visit the laboratory?
A: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has special rules regarding site visits by candidates, including current officeholders. DOE buildings and property may not be used for campaign activities such as rallies, town hall meetings, speeches, press conferences or photo opportunities. Where a DOE facility has a policy of allowing public tours, such as at the Advanced Photon Source, DOE may authorize a candidate’s request for a tour as it would for any other member of the public. However, a number of conditions apply to assure that a tour does not turn into a campaign event. Any request for a tour by a candidate should be referred to the office of Communications, Education, and Public Affairs for consideration and coordination with DOE.
Q: What if an Argonne employee has a specific question regarding his or her involvement in some form of electoral or other political activity?
A: Any such questions should be directed to the Argonne Legal Department at ext. 2-3040.
William D. Luck is a senior attorney in Argonne’s Legal Department. He provides legal advice to laboratory management on environment, safety and health, nuclear and transportation compliance and other matters including corporate governance as requested by the General Counsel.