Public Workers v. Mitchell//Hatch Act of 1939?
***Public Workers v. Mitchell***
***Hatch Act of 1939***
I'm not quite getting this. Does this mean the above laws/decisions mean that the federal executive branch employees (all federal employees are in the executive branch, though, right?) are prohibited from engaging in politics? How would you define "engaging in politics"? Also, any ideas why it it a threat to the Ninth Amendment? I don't see why engaging in politics violates other people's basic rights if that's why it is a threat....
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
The Hatch Act of 1939 is a United States federal law whose main provision is to prohibit federal employees (civil servants) from engaging in partisan political activity. Named after Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico, the law was officially known as An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities.
The act precluded federal employees from membership in "any political organization which advocates the overthrow of our constitutional form of government." During the Second Red Scare, this designation was interpreted to include communist and labor organizations. By engaging in politics they are referring to actively campaigning for an individual who is running for office but they can still vote.~