Federal · Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees

5 U.S.C. § 7321: Political participation

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

Congressional policy statement establishing that federal employees may participate in political processes freely and without penalty, with effective dates for related amendments and provisions governing transition of prior proceedings.

Read the full statutory text
It is the policy of the Congress that employees should be encouraged to exercise fully, freely, and without fear of penalty or reprisal, and to the extent not expressly prohibited by law, their right to participate or to refrain from participating in the political processes of the Nation. The amendments made by this Act [enacting sections 5520a and 7321 to 7326 of this title and section 610 of Title 18 , Crimes and Criminal Procedure, amending sections 1216, 2302, 3302 and 3303 of this title, sections 602 and 603 of Title 18, section 410 of Title 39 , Postal Service, and sections 1973d and 9904 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and omitting former sections 7321 to 7328 of this title] shall take effect 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [ Oct. 6, 1993 ], except that the authority to prescribe regulations granted under section 7325 of title 5 , United States Code (as added by section 2 of this Act), shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. Any repeal or amendment made by this Act of any provision of law shall not release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under that provision, and that provision shall be treated as remaining in force for the purpose of sustaining any proper proceeding or action for the enforcement of that penalty, forfeiture, or liability. No provision of this Act shall affect any proceedings with respect to which the charges were filed on or before the effective date of the amendments made by this Act. Orders shall be issued in such proceedings and appeals shall be taken therefrom as if this Act had not been enacted.”

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.