Managing Political Speech and Activism:
A Legal Guide for HR
America is as hyper-polarized as it has been since the Civil War. Your employees have opinions, and they're often loud ones – even on social media. But those opinions sometimes bump up against a variety of contradictory laws related to freedom of expression, civility of discourse, retaliation, claims of "protected concerted activity" and more.
Two recent examples: 1) An Ohio waitress was fired for refusing her boss's order to wear a pro-Trump face mask. 2) Facebook fired an employee who used Twitter to criticize a co-worker for not supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Are those actions legal? Do you understand your organization's rights and responsibilities? And where can you draw the line on employee expression?
Discover the correct policies and practices you need to have in place NOW to foster a positive workplace culture and stay in compliance with all of these confusing laws. You will find out:
- The different laws that are triggered when employees engage in political or social activity
- The precise wording for a legally safe political-expression policy
- Which restrictions you can put on employees' social media – and when it's legal to discipline for provocative posts
- How to deal with the off-duty conduct laws that protect employees in more than 30 states
- Which employee words and actions are "protected activity" under the National Labor Relations Act
- How to communicate with employees who violate your policies
- How to train managers to respect varying views among employees while maintaining a positive environment
While employees don't have First Amendment rights to say whatever they want in private workplaces, that doesn't mean you should (or can) put a gag order on all political discussions (whether in-person or online).
Don't wait until this becomes a problem in your workplace to find out what to do.
Discover how to create policies and practices that allow free speech but also minimize distractions and maintain order among your employees. Get your copy of Managing Political Speech and Activism now!
Sincerely,
Pat DiDomenico, Editorial Director
HR Specialist
P.S. Your satisfaction is unconditionally guaranteed. If the Managing Political Speech and Activism fails to meet your needs, we will refund every penny you paid – no hassles, no questions asked.
Managing Political Speech and Activism:
About Your Speaker:
Andrew Metcalf is an employment law attorney in the St. Louis office of Ogletree Deakins, an international labor and employment firm. He represents businesses and public organizations in all aspects of employment law – including both litigation and HR counseling – on issues such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and the FMLA and FLSA. He is a popular speaker and author to business groups on workplace best practices.
Credit Hours:
The use of this official seal confirms that this Activity has met HR Certification Institute’s® (HRCI®) criteria for recertification credit pre-approval.
This program is valid for 1.25 PDCs for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.