The Cause of Action Institute launched an investigation on Thursday into whether Labor Secretary Tom Perez violated the Hatch Act by using his position to boost his run for Democratic National Committee chairman.
"The law is clear: public officials paid by taxpayers cannot use their position to engage in political activities," said Cause of Action's Henry Kerner.
Cause of Action filed a Freedom of Information Act request after it was reported that Perez emailed Democratic Party chairs to announce a conference call that he used to announce his candidacy for the DNC post.
The group "requested all communications surrounding this outreach to better understand whether Sec. Perez has used taxpayer resources, such as government issued computers, office space, mobile devices, staff, or email systems to promote his campaign," according to a press release.
Cause of Action pointed out that other officials in the Obama administration such as Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and former Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis have all been found to have violated the Hatch Act.
"The Obama administration’s unprecedented history of Hatch Act violations threatens to undermine this important protection," Kerner said. "Americans have a right to know if Sec. Perez used taxpayer-funded resources to further his own political campaign."