News & Analysis as of July 30, 2025

First Amendment › Protected Concerted Activity › Free Speech

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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 -

Fourth Circuit Issues Guidance On Employer Speech During Organizing Campaigns

Genova Burns LLC on 6/24/2025

A recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel enforced part and declined to enforce another part of an NLRB ruling that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act by telling employees that the union’s...more

10 social media tips for employers and employees

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 6/28/2024

Want to stay out of trouble? Read on! Did you know that this Sunday will be "Social Media Day"? Neither did I. But even after all this time, social media continues to get employees and employers in trouble. Here are six...more

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

Fisher Phillips on 1/15/2024

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

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

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and... on 2/2/2023

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

Employee Activism, Safety, and Support Amid Difficult Issues

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/30/2022

Recent social and political controversies, such as rulings from the Supreme Court of the United States, international conflicts, and mass shootings, are likely to cause more employees to voice their opinions and frustrations...more

The First Amendment & Employer Regulation of Employee Speech

TNG Consulting on 12/3/2020

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

Political and Controversial Activity in the Workplace [More with McGlinchey Ep. 11]

McGlinchey Stafford on 10/16/2020

Election season is in full swing and the climate is certainly charged. In this episode of “More with McGlinchey,” Labor and Employment attorneys Mag Bickford, Rasch Brown, Camille Bryant, and Kathy Conklin discuss employees’...more

Politics at Work

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 10/9/2020

In 2020, politics permeates the workplace. Employers should anticipate election-related issues regardless of whether their workplace is open, remains virtual or falls somewhere in between. Striking a balance between the...more

How the Misconception of ‘Free Speech’ in the Workplace Persists through High-Profile Examples of Social Consciousness

FordHarrison on 10/30/2019

With the NBA season set to begin this month, so many eagerly anticipated storylines are being discussed. Would the Clippers and Lakers live up to expectations and make Los Angeles the place to be this season? How are teams...more

Nashville Trump Supporter Fired Over Facebook Post Wins Trial

Butler Snow LLP on 8/27/2019

Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more

Federal Court Rejects Free Speech Challenge to New York City's Payroll Deduction Law

FordHarrison on 2/14/2019

On February 6, 2018, a New York federal judge rejected a challenge to a New York City law requiring fast-food businesses to, upon request of their employees, forward voluntary deductions from employee paychecks to nonprofits....more

Court Holds Union Membership ‘Worthy of Constitutional Protection’

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 9/24/2018

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the appeals court that has jurisdiction over federal cases in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the U. S. Virgin Islands, recently held that a public employer violates the First...more

NFL No-Kneeling Compromise: Implications For The Workplace

Troutman Pepper Locke on 6/19/2018

Q: Can private employers limit workplace speech and activities? A: Yes, but only if the limits do not violate other laws. ...more

Can You Fire Someone For Racist Tweets?

Zuckerman Spaeder LLP on 6/5/2018

On May 29, Roseanne Barr posted a tweet comparing former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to an ape. ABC’s reaction was swift and decisive: it fired Barr and cancelled her show. ABC’s decision led to pontification from...more

Can You Be Fired for Flipping off the President? Yes...Well...Maybe Not

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 11/10/2017

There is a widespread myth in this country that the First Amendment protects free speech in the workplace. Employees who loudly state controversial opinions often think the First Amendment protects them from being fired as a...more

Flipping Out Over Flipping Off: What Are the Limits on Regulating Employee Political Speech?

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 11/9/2017

Around the end of October, a photo of a government contractor employee flipping the bird to President Trump’s motorcade went viral after the woman made it her profile picture on Facebook. She was subsequently fired for a...more

Regulating Speech at Work

Troutman Pepper Locke on 10/10/2017

Q: Can a private employer limit its employees’ speech and political activity in the workplace? A: Yes, but not speech that is considered part of a “concerted activity.”...more

Racism in Your Spare Time: What Are The Legal Limits for Employers?

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 9/13/2017

On Saturday, August 12, as the nation watched, protests in Charlottesville, Virginia regarding the anticipated removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee turned deadly. In the days and weeks after, both the...more

Google and Charlottesville Events Raise Questions for Companies Regarding Employee Political Views

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 8/23/2017

Two recent major news stories again involve the intersection of politics with employment law. In the first matter, Google fired a programmer after he posted an internal document criticizing the company’s diversity...more

Digital Disruptions: Handling Social Media Misuse By Students And Educators

Fisher Phillips on 7/15/2017

Beginning with the launch of Myspace and Facebook in the early part of the last decade, social media communication has taken the world by storm. Today, social media networking is the primary means of communicating about one’s...more

Dear Littler: Can A Boss Fire Someone for Off-Duty Political Activities?

Littler on 1/20/2017

Dear Littler: I saw one of my employees on the local news the other night participating in a political rally over the weekend. We try to maintain a tension-free workplace. Can I discipline him for this conduct? Can I at least...more

Politics in the Workplace: What Must Employers Allow?

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/20/2016

Everyone has experienced both "workplace politics," in which Type A employees claw their way to the top at the expense of co-workers, and "politics in the workplace," in which employees discuss candidates for office and...more

What’s in a Like?

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Social Media on 11/5/2014

In the pre-Facebook era, the word “like” was primarily a verb (and an interjection sprinkled throughout valley girls’ conversations). Although you could have likes and dislikes in the sense of preferences, you could not give...more

Firing Employees For Their Social Media Content – First, Stop And Think [Audio]

Gray Reed on 1/29/2013

Much has been written about whether you can fire someone for what they put on Facebook. Your gut reaction may be that surely if someone talks bad about the company, you can fire them. The National Relations Labor Board...more

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