Political Talk In The Workplace

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With the current presidential race advancing, you are sure to hear political talk of some sort in your workplace. As an employer, it is important to know the regulations that you can enforce to remain compliant with the law. For example, if you are a private company, your employees do not have unrestricted free speech under the First Amendment. As an employer, you have the right to regulate political talk if it interferes with an employee being productive. One thing to keep in mind when enforcing these regulations is to make sure that you remain consistent when enforcing them. Also, the NLRB does protect certain speech and affiliation. For example, non-disruptive political advocacy related to employment issues during non- work time and in non-work areas is protected.

What does this mean for your business?

Make sure that you have a set of regulations to rely on when political talk gets out of hand, and make sure to enforce them consistently. Also, make sure all employees are aware of the regulations that you have put in effect. Lastly, be sure to abide by the laws when enforcing regulations. If an employee has a right to free speech, it is important that your regulations comply with this.