Terminating Workers In The Private Sector For Their Political Affiliations And Activities – Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

As this year’s political campaigns heat up and elections
draw closer, heated discussions in hallways, postings on social
media platforms, and expressing support for candidates tend to
become all too common in the workplace. When these activities begin
to affect workplace productivity and morale, private employers may
wonder if they can fire employees based on their political
affiliation and activities. In many cases, they can, since there is
no federal law that prohibits discrimination based on political
affiliation or beliefs.

Unlike government workers, who have protections under the First
Amendment for their political behavior outside the workplace,
private workers do not enjoy any legal protections of their
political speech and activities. The only exception for employees
of private companies is under selected state laws and local
ordinances, which may offer protection, at least to varying
degrees.

For instance, a few states prohibit political affiliation
discrimination by private companies, including California,
Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, Utah, and
Washington D.C. Significantly more states ban discrimination based
on political activities, but these laws often provide very limited
protections that apply only in certain situations. For example, the
laws in Georgia and Ohio only provide protection for employees if
an employer tries to intimidate them into voting a certain way or
not voting at all. Likewise, the New York law very narrowly defines
political activity, so many actions by employees may not fall
within the protections of the law.

In other situations, an employee’s actions may be protected
as political activity, but it also may violate other employer
policies or rules if it occurs in the workplace. For instance, if
political activity interferes with employee performance, violates
prohibitions on personal or mass email messages, or breaches rules
on employee attire at work, the employee may face discipline for
other reasons.

On the federal level, employers may not prevent employees from
engaging in concerted activities to impact legislation, such as
minimum wage increase or other similar policies. Doing so may cause
employers to run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act.
Employers also must take care not to take any disciplinary action
that could be construed as violating Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which prevent discrimination based on various
protected classes, including race, sex, gender, religion, or
national origin.

Whether state or local laws impact an employer’s ability to
terminate workers based on political affiliation or activity or
not, employers should consider the other consequences of doing so.
Some employees may welcome employer action to rid the workplace of
a highly offensive person. However, other employees may believe
that employers should stay out of employees’ personal business
and allow them to have their own political opinions. Therefore,
taking disciplinary action in this situation could either boost or
lower employee morale in general, depending on the
circumstances.

HBL has experience in all areas of benefits and employment law,
offering a comprehensive solution to all your business benefits and
HR/employment needs. We help ensure you are in compliance with the
complex requirements of ERISA and the IRS code, as well as those
laws that impact you and your employees. Together, we reduce your
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.