When Individual Politics Become Public: Do Civil Service Protections Insulate Government Workers?

Foy, Morgan

doi:10.1257/app.20220723

Abstract

This paper examines whether the civil service system protected state bureaucrats from political interference following a recall petition against the governor of Wisconsin. I find that most classified workers, who were covered by the state civil service laws, were paid equally by signing status following the public disclosure of the petition list. Conversely, signers in the unclassified service, a smaller set of government positions, were paid about 3 percent less annually relative to non-signers in the post-disclosure period. These results indicate that the civil service insulated qualified bureaucrats, while uncovered workers faced retribution.

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When Individual Politics Become Public: Do Civil Service Protections Insulate Government Workers?

Abstract

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