During any election cycle, workplaces will experience increased political discussion among employees. These discussions can become heated especially where co-workers have differing political views and outlooks. Recent studies have shown that political polarization in the workplace has gotten much more pronounced and may lead to greater stress and lower productivity. Just what should and can an employer do to curb political discussion and activity 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. This means that private employers have the ability to regulate political discourse in the workplace, subject to employee rights to engage in concerted action for mutual aid or protection under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Furthermore, although the First Amendment protections apply to public employers and protect public employees’ rights to free speech, even public employers can apply limitations that will ensure efficient operations. Moreover, while some states have statutes that regulate free speech in the workplace, Iowa does not. Rather, Iowa law simply prohibits threatening or coercing an individual with respect to registering...
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