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Politics in the workplace — Georgia

Every election year, workplaces experience an increase in political discussion among employees. Sometimes these discussions can get heated, especially where coworkers have differing political views and outlooks. Just what should and can an employer do to curb political discussion and activity in the workplace? This chapter aims to reveal just that.

Limiting political expression in the workplace

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution governs free speech rights. However, the First Amendment’s protections apply only to state action. Therefore, private employers have the ability to regulate political discourse in the workplace. Moreover, while the First Amendment protections apply to public employers and protects public employee’s rights to free speech, even public employers can apply limitations that will ensure efficient operations. In addition, while some states have statutes that regulate free speech in the workplace, Georgia does not.

Therefore, Georgia private employers are free to create and apply reasonable speech limitations to its workforce. Georgia employers can discipline or discharge an employee for violation of workplace policies, as long as the policy is applied consistently to all employees. In most cases, employers should reserve discipline or discharge to instances where the employee’s conduct interferes with his/her work activities or...


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