Public employees should take a leave of absence from work when running for elective office. The desire for political leadership is considered a lawful reason for taking leave from the workplace. This practice is protected by federal law under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) enacted in 1993 (Nigro & Kellough, 2014). In essence, employees working as civil servants in the U.S. have the absolute right to take a leave of absence for family and medical-related reasons. Additionally, the legislation extends vital provisions that allow the government workers to seek individual interests, including running for elective office. Most importantly, public employees should resign from their civil roles and responsibilities if they win leadership positions.
Winning an elective office implies additional responsibilities that require transparency and accountability from multiple stakeholders. For instance, individuals require political leaders to respond to senate queries regarding the distribution and allocation of public resources (Nigro & Kellough, 2014). Similarly, elected officials are accountable for their cost and expense management practices to run a political jurisdiction. As a result, public employees should consider taking a leave of absence when seeking political or administrative roles.
Moreover, elective offices can be considered a critical pathway to public members’ political careers aiming to extend their civil service roles. Both state and federal legislation should allow individuals who work in the public sector to look for other personal challenges in politics. Taking a leave of absence is useful for government agencies to allow public employees to seek elective offices (Nigro & Kellough, 2014). However, these individuals should resign from their previous positions if they win during elections. Assuming both roles would result in ineffective delivery of responsibilities due to political influence on vital decisions that require impartiality.
Reference
Nigro, L., & Kellough, J. (2014). The new public personnel administration (7th ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.