Minnesota Administrative Rules

4670.0500 POLITICAL ACTIVITY.

Subpart 1.

Prohibition on elections.

No employee shall use his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for office.

Subp. 2.

Prohibition on contribution.

No employee shall directly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, or advise a merit system employee to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to a party, committee, organization, agency, or person for political purposes.

Subp. 3.

Prohibition of candidacy.

No employee shall be a candidate in a partisan election for any public office which is obtained through a partisan election. Candidacy for political party office is not prohibited.

Subp. 4.

Applicability during sick leave, leave without pay, or administrative leave.

An employee continues to be covered by the federal Hatch Act restrictions including all the restrictions listed in subparts 1 to 5 while on annual leave, sick leave, leave without pay, or administrative leave. Any employee shall resign from the service upon filing as a candidate for public office, except as provided in subpart 5.

Subp. 5.

Candidate in nonpartisan elections.

Any employee may be a candidate in nonpartisan elections. These are elections in which none of the candidates is to be nominated or elected as representing a political party whose candidates for presidential elector received votes in the last presidential election.

Subp. 6.

Federal Hatch Act.

All prohibitions of political activity provided in the federal Hatch Act apply to employees under the merit system.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 144.071

Published Electronically:

November 25, 2003