Thompson Coburn partner Kacey Riccomini was recently interviewed by Legal Dive on how political speech could create legal problems in the workplace.
Kacey explained that the issue of political speech at work ramps up as the election approaches. “And I would say that the more active political candidates or parties are...whether it’s over any form of media or posting themselves, the more that people tend to repeat it or refer to it, and sometimes that’s in the workplace and may not be entirely appropriate,” she said.
Kacey discussed that when a complaint is escalated to HR or in-house counsel, the resolution can vary widely depending on the specific situation. “It could be a variety of things. It really depends on the circumstances. It could be that some statements may not run afoul of certain laws like the (California) Fair Employment and Housing Act or Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act. And so there’s not much to be done about those statements,” she said.
However, she emphasized that even if a statement doesn't break the law, it could still be a concern under Title 7. “It may be a conversation with the employees about maintaining a respectful discourse, or if they can’t do that, to perhaps not engage with one another in that discourse, but if there is something else to the post or the statement that’s made that really is a concern under, for example, Title 7, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, or the Crown Act, something along those lines, then discipline, up to and including termination, may be something that has to occur.”
Original source can be found here.