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First Amendment › Employer Liability Issues › Employee Rights

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech... more +
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech or the press, preventing citizens from peacefully assembling, or interfering with citizens' ability to petition the government for redress of their grievances. The First Amendment is one of the most sacred aspects of the American legal tradition and has spawned a vast body of jurisprudence and commentary. less -
Husch Blackwell LLP

Proselytizing Online, Fired in Real Life: Are Anti-LGBTQ+ Views Protected by Title VII?

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Earlier this month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement, commenced litigation against Rock Snowpark on July 2, 2025, for allegedly retaliating...more

Ice Miller

Parades, Protests, and Politics: Managing Off-Duty Conduct in the Workplace

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As the nation prepares to celebrate the Fourth of July with parades, fireworks, and barbeques, many employers may find themselves faced with a challenging issue—how to manage employee conduct that occurs off the clock,...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Federal Court Refuses to Dismiss Claims Brought Under Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act (“CHRIA”)

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Deivert v. Zartman and Borough of Northumberland, 2025 WL 83747 (M.D.Pa. 2025) - (Neither a municipality nor a municipal manager had immunity under the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (“PPSTCA”) for the...more

Oppenheimer Investigations Group

MAGA Hats and Pronoun Disputes Test Workplace Speech Boundaries

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The line between protected political speech and workplace disruption depends largely on who signs your paycheck. Public employees enjoy First Amendment protections that private sector workers lack, but even government...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

May 2025 California Employment Law Notes

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We invite you to review our newly-posted, May 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law. The highlights include: Apple...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Coalition for a Democratic Workplace Urges US Attorney General to Unilaterally Override Biden-Era NLRB Decisions

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The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) – an association of several hundred employers and employer associations – sent letters to US Attorney General Pam Bondi to direct the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

The intersection of partisan political speech and employee rights. Look both ways before crossing.

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Considering the barrage of vitriolic campaign ads that invaded our homes on a nightly basis during the past year, you might think that political debate in America had reached a new low. Think again....more

Littler

NLRB Jettisons 76-Year-Old Precedent Covering Workplace Meetings

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Since 1948, Section 8(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) had been interpreted to protect the First Amendment right of employers to bring employees together to exchange views, arguments, and opinions about...more

Stinson LLP

After 76 Years, the NLRB Declares Captive-Audience Meetings Unlawful

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On November 13, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held in Amazon.com Services LLC, 373 NLRB No. 136, that "captive-audience" meetings are unlawful under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Specifically, the...more

FordHarrison

Managing Political Discussions in Florida’s Private Workplaces: What Employers Need to Know

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Introduction - As the election draws near, private (nongovernmental) employers in Tampa Bay face unique challenges regarding political speech in the workplace. While they have considerable flexibility to regulate political...more

Littler

Politics in the Workplace and the Risks of Social Media

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In 2017, former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy noted in Packingham v. North Carolina that the most important place for the exchange of ideas is no longer the physical town square but cyberspace and, in particular,...more

White and Williams LLP

Talking Politics Can Lead to Employer Liability

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This episode of The Employment Law Counselor Hosted by Jeff Stewart in collaboration with the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), features guest John Baker, Director of Labor Relations, Del Lago Resort and...more

Kilpatrick

Illinois Passes Law Limiting 'Captive Audience' Meetings

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On July 31, 2024, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 3649, the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” (the “Act”) which prohibits employers from using “captive audience” meetings with employees to discuss an...more

Littler

Illinois Makes Move to Ban Employer-Sponsored Meetings

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For over 75 years, the National Labor Relations Board and courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) have held the right of employees to make informed choices about unions is best served when employers share competing...more

Littler

Hawaii's New “Captive Audience” Law: What Employers Need to Know

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Under current federal law, employers may legally require workers to attend meetings during working hours that concern the employer’s views on politics, religion and similar matters. Hawaii recently joined several states,...more

Littler

Two Utah Laws Related to Religious Expression in the Workplace Take Effect

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The Utah legislature wrapped up its seven-week legislative session on March 1, 2024.  In addition to passing a #MeToo-inspired law prohibiting confidentiality clauses regarding sexual misconduct, the legislature also passed...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Policing Social Media Posts – PA Appellate Court Prohibits Reinstatement of Kutztown University Police Officer

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May 28, 2024Publications On May 1, 2024, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court vacated an arbitration award involving the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Officers Association (“Association”) and a former...more

Littler

New York District Court Enjoins Enforcement of Law Limiting Employer Speech During Organizing Campaigns

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A federal judge in New York recently cast doubt on the validity of state laws that seek to restrict employer speech in connection with union organizing. In New York State Vegetable Growers Association, Inc. v. Letitia James,...more

Robinson+Cole Manufacturing Law Blog

Manufacturers’ Manual to Political Speech in the Workplace

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As we approach election season, conversations about politics are quickly picking up across the country and in the workplace. Employers may be wondering how they can manage communications in the workplace....more

Robinson & Cole LLP

Important Considerations for Connecticut Employers in Anticipation of Election Day

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The 2022 midterm elections in the United States are just around the corner, on November 8. Midterm elections generally decide which political party controls the United States Congress as well as state legislatures and...more

Littler

Connecticut Set to Enact Ban on Employer-Sponsored Meetings

Littler on

On April 29, 2022, organized labor achieved a long-sought political objective when the Connecticut House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 163, “An Act Protecting Employee Freedom of Speech and Conscience.” Effective July...more

Franczek P.C.

NLRB General Counsel Urges Board to Find Captive Audience Speeches are Unlawful

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For decades, employers have been permitted to hold mandatory meetings or “captive audience speeches” in response to union organizing campaigns to present the company’s position on unionization. On April 7, 2022, the National...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

New York District Court Permanently Enjoins Reproductive Health Notice of Rights Requirement for Employee Handbooks

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A Northern District of New York court has permanently enjoined the statewide requirement that employers include a notice of workers’ rights and remedies in their employee handbooks regarding the prohibition on discrimination...more

Robinson+Cole Manufacturing Law Blog

Free Speech and Expression in the 2021 Workplace

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While the presidential election may be in the past, conversations on political and social issues are not. As the new Presidential Administration takes the helm, the pandemic continues, and significant political division...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Absolute Freedom to Tweet? Employers (and the NLRA) May Have Something to Say About It

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Do you need a social media policy or are the legal obstacles just too much? Now more than ever, people are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, which, not surprisingly, can cause heartburn at the workplace....more

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