The Legal Environment of Human Resources Management 77in - boxes. The OSC notes that receiving an e - mail may not be under an
individual ’ s control; however, public employees should not forward an e - mail
that urges a vote for a specifi c candidate or seeks to raise campaign money.
Blogging about politics from work is not permissible, and blogging from
home may also get a federal employee in trouble (Barr, 2008).
The political activities of most state and local government employees
are also restricted by state or local governments’ “ little Hatch Acts. ” What
is permitted and what is proscribed vary by state. Many of the state laws
are less restrictive than the federal Hatch Act and permit state and local
employees to engage in more political activity then federal counterparts
are allowed. It is important for public employees to review current federal
and state laws, along with local ordinances, resolutions, and regulations,
to determine permitted political activity.Privacy Rights
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars unreasonable
searches and seizures and essentially provides zones of privacy. However,
not every intrusion on a privacy interest is a search, and employers can and
do limit the zones of privacy in the workplace.
Public employees do not lose their Fourth Amendment Rights against
unreasonable searches or seizures because they work for the government
instead of a private employer ( National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab ,
1989). Where employees have a “ reasonable expectation of privacy ”
under employment circumstances, the Fourth Amendment provides
protection unless a search warrant is issued by a detached magistrate
based on probable cause.Due Process Rights
This area of the law is in constant development as societal values and
ideologies ebb and fl ow. There are two concepts of recognized due process:
procedural and substantive. Procedural due process is a concept adopting
fundamental fairness as the rule of law to effect decisions that affect indi-
vidual rights. Due process in this context is not necessarily a tangible right;
rather, it relates to the preprocesses afforded to individuals before tan-
gible rights are affected by government. Essentially procedural due process
requires the government to provide reasonable notice and an opportunity to
be heard within a fair forum under just conditions before a person ’ s rights
are negatively affected. Fairness is an objective standard and naturally