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First Amendment Employer Liability Issues Employment Policies

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?

Husch Blackwell LLP on

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

Ice Miller on

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

Oppenheimer Investigations Group

MAGA Hats and Pronoun Disputes Test Workplace Speech Boundaries

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

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

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

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

Weintraub Tobin

Lawsuit Filed by CA Chamber of Commerce: Challenging Senate Bill 399

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This is a follow-up to our recent blog post regarding Senate Bill 399 (“SB 399”) and its prohibition on an employer’s right to take adverse action against an employee who refuses to attend meetings related to “political...more

FordHarrison

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

FordHarrison on

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

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Miss Mannerly's five tips for political peace in the workplace

Election Day is almost upon us, Gentle Reader. Behave! Dear Miss Mannerly: My employees have strong political views, and since the Presidential debate the other night, they are out of control. They are split about evenly...more

Littler

Politics in the Workplace and the Risks of Social Media

Littler on

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

Fisher Phillips

Election Season in the Workplace: Employers’ Essential FAQs for 2024

Fisher Phillips on

The coming election year promises to be turbulent, and your workplace will not be immune from the challenges that are sure to face us. What do you need to know about your rights and responsibilities as an employer now that...more

Fisher Phillips

When Employees Speak Out: An Employer’s Playbook for Responding to Controversial Opinions

Fisher Phillips on

Many people feel emboldened to publicly share their views on all sorts of controversial topics these days – politics, international relations, religion, culture, or any number of other incendiary areas where there are bound...more

Robinson+Cole Manufacturing Law Blog

Manufacturers’ Manual to Political Speech in the Workplace

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

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Bitter Medicine: Third Circuit Holds Officers Disciplined for Offensive Social Media Posts Stated a First Amendment Claim

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Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 8, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Fenico v. City of Philadelphia that police officers disciplined for offensive Facebook posts stated a First Amendment claim...more

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP

Smucker’s Vax Mandate Stands, Federal Court of Appeals Hands Broad Win to Federal Contractors

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Private companies doing business with the federal government won a major COVID-19-related victory recently when the Sixth Circuit held in Ciraci v. J.M. Smucker’s Co. that government contractors are not subject to...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Disciplining Employees for Offensive Private Speech: Connecticut Employers Must Show Workplace Disruption

Employers in Connecticut need to be aware that Connecticut law makes the free speech provisions of both the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and those of the Connecticut Constitution applicable to...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Review: 8 Key Rulings from Last Term that Impact the Workplace and 3 Issues We’re Watching

Fisher Phillips on

Many employers looked to the Supreme Court last term for clarity in cases with a significant impact on the workplace. The justices continued to shape the employment law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more

Cozen O'Connor

Employment Law Now V-96- LOTS of Big Employment Law Developments

Cozen O'Connor on

In today's new episode, Michael Schmidt talks about social media and schools (and what that means for employers generally), spousal claims against employers for getting COVID-19 at home, the withdrawal of the independent...more

Robinson+Cole Manufacturing Law Blog

Free Speech and Expression in the 2021 Workplace

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

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

TNG Consulting

The First Amendment & Employer Regulation of Employee Speech

TNG Consulting on

The nuances of what is considered public speech versus private speech, as well as the concept of “touching on a matter of public concern” can be complex to understand and even more complex for administrators to apply....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Sixth Circuit Backs Termination of Public Employee for Racially Derogatory Social Media Post on 2016 Presidential Election

On October 6, 2020, in Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, No. 19-5818, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in favor of a public employee who claimed that the city...more

Fisher Phillips

A Dealership’s Guide To Social Media, Free Speech, And The Election

Fisher Phillips on

You just learned that one of your employees expressed their opinion about the election on social media. Their unfiltered post includes slurs, and it is inflammatory at best. Had they made these same comments while at work,...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

The Election Season Is Upon Us: Guidance for Managing Political Expression in the California Workplace

In a year of extraordinary events, this election has been more divisive and controversial than any other in recent history. Many employers are grappling with how they should manage political expression in the workplace. An...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Employer “Dislike” Button—Disciplining Employees For Noxious Social Media Posts

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Seyfarth Synopsis: With the most contentious election of our lifetimes fast approaching, we might expect employees to engage in political conduct and share strong, controversial opinions while off duty, especially on social...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Public Employee’s Social Media Post Justifies Discharge

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

Carr v. PennDOT, 2020 WL 2532232 (Pa. 2020) (Pennsylvania Supreme Court sustains the termination of employment of a public employee for a social media post). Background - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation...more

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