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Politics in the workplace — South Carolina

Every election year workplaces will experience an increase in political discussion amongst employees. Sometimes these discussions can get heated especially where coworkers have differing political views and outlooks. Employers have a real interest in addressing this subject because of the impact on their workers. The American Psychological Association reported that during the 2016 Presidential election, one in four younger employees reported feeling stressed out because of political discussions at work and more than twice as many men as women said political talk is making them less productive. Since then, studies have shown that political polarization has gotten much more pronounced. Just what should and can an employer do to curb political discussion and activity in the workplace? This topic 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, subject to employee rights to engage in concerted action for mutual aid or protection under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). And, while the First Amendment protections apply to public employers and protects public...


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