Hatch Act Advisory Opinion Regarding Jurisdiction Over Former Employees

On December 22, 2025, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) issued an advisory rescinding an advisory it had issued earlier in the year. OSC had announced in an April 25, 2025 policy issuance that it would not file any Hatch Act complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) against former federal employees. OSC explained that the question of its jurisdiction to file such complaints with the MSPB was the subject of pending litigation. OSC wrote: “Until the legal question concerning jurisdiction is resolved to OSC’s satisfaction, OSC will refrain from filing any new complaints against former employees.” In this December 22 advisory opinion, OSC announced that it viewed itself as having the authority to file Hatch Act complaints against former federal employees and, where warranted, would do so. Between the April issuance and the December issuance, OSC had received a decision from an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who found that the MSPB would have jurisdiction to adjudicate Hatch Act complaints filed against former federal employees. Notably, however, the ALJ’s decision was only an initial decision that could be appealed to the MSPB’s full board of presidential appointees and then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.