“You Don’t Say?!” Political Speech in the Private Sector Workplace

“You Don’t Say?!” Political Speech in the Private Sector Workplace

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Another election season is upon us. That means that there may well be spirited discussions around the workplace water cooler or on social media as we express opinions on candidates and political issues.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution generally protects the fundamental right to free speech:  “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech.”  But the First Amendment does not apply to private employers, who can generally fire employees for their political activities or affiliations.

Generally, employees in the private sector do not have a constitutional right to free speech at the office. But employers still need to be aware of federal and state laws that protect workers’ speech in certain situations. For example, the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act prohibits discrimination against employees because the individual declines or refuses to participate in religious or political meetings or religious or political communications. This means that an employer may not require an employee to attend a political or religious meeting as part of the employee’s job activities.

Similarly, an employer may not interfere with an employee’s right to engage in concerted activity or for mutual aid or protection. Such speech is protected from retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act. This right to engage in concerted activity applies to workers in both union and non-union settings. Federal law protects the right to engage to speak with fellow employees about matters pertaining to wages, hours, and conditions of employment in the workplace.

WISCONSIN EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITY
Although Wisconsin does not have a law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of political affiliation, the law that protects the right of employees to decline meeting attendance is a measure of worker protection.

Employment discrimination because of declining to attend a meeting or to participate in a communication about religious or political matters includes discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because the employee declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or to participate in any communication with the employer or with an agent of the employer, where the primary purpose is to communicate the opinion of the employer about religious matters or political matters. Wisconsin employers are advised to be cautious about trying to corral employees into political discussions. It is also a discriminatory practice in Wisconsin for an employer to threaten to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee as a way to require the employee to attend the meeting or communication described above.

The rules recited above do not apply if the employer is a religious association not organized for private profit or in an organization or corporation that is primarily owned or controlled by such a religious association and the primary purpose of the meeting or communication is to communicate the employer’s religious beliefs or practices. The law that make it unlawful to discriminate as described above also does not apply to a political organization including a political party, like the Democratic party or the Republican party.

Under the law, an employer still has the right to discuss with its executive, managerial or administrative personnel matters relating to the operation of the employer’s program, business or enterprise, including issues that may arise under the law that limits discrimination from mandatory meeting attendance or communications. An employer may offer meetings or other communications about religious or political matters for which attendance is completely voluntary.

In conclusion, speech in the private sector employment context is not as easy as it might first appear. Employees do have certain rights to discuss topics related to the workplace. But in Wisconsin, employers may discriminate on the basis of political affiliation, even though an employer may not require attendance at political or religious meetings. If you feel that you are in the middle of a legal minefield when it comes to political or religious speech in the workplace, it is best to contact your employment lawyer for advice and consultation.

Is It Time to Revise Severance Agreements and Employee Handbooks?

Is It Time to Revise Severance Agreements and Employee Handbooks?

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) returned to a longstanding precedent recently by holding that employers violate the National Labor Relations Act if they offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the Act. This holding means that employers who use severance agreements should review them to make sure that the usual provisions that broadly require non-disparagement (the employee will not say anything negative about the employer, their products, etc.) and confidentiality are not overly broad. Employers should review their employee handbooks to check for similar overbreadth.

The severance agreement at issue in the case of McClaren Macomb contained overly broad non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses that the Board said tended to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees’ exercise of the Section 7 rights. Under Section 7, non-managerial and non-supervisor employees have the right to engage in concerted activity for mutual aid or protection. The Board held that non-disclosure provisions that contain a non-disparagement clause that advised the employees that they are prohibited from making statements that could disparage or harm the image of the employer and their officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives are unlawful. In addition, the confidentiality clause at issue advised employees that they are prohibited from disclosing the terms of the agreement to anyone except for a spouse or professional advisor, unless compelled by law to do so.

The ruling means that although severance agreements are not banned, they may need to be modified. Employers who use severance agreements should consider revising them to narrow the scope of non-disparagement and confidentiality provisions so that they pass muster under the Act. The general counsel for the NLRB has recently written that confidentiality clauses that are narrowly-tailored to restrict the dissemination of proprietary or trade secret information for a period of time based on legitimate business justifications may be lawful. However, confidentiality clauses that have a chilling effect that precludes employees from assisting others about workplace issues or from communicating with the NLRB, a union, legal forums, the media or other third parties are likely unlawful.

In Conclusion, What should the astute employer do in light of the most recent NLRB ruling? It is not necessary to abandon severance agreements altogether. Rather, an employer should review their severance agreement forms and employee handbooks to make sure that the provisions relating to confidentiality and non-disparagement are consistent with the new rulings of the NLRB.

Please contact one of our experienced employment attorneys for additional assistance in reviewing your policies.

More Protections for Pregnant Workers

More Protections for Pregnant Workers

If you are an employer with pregnant employees, employees returning from parental leave, or employees who have had a child in the last two years, then please read on.

Effective on December 29, 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (also known as the “PUMP Act”) expanded protections for breastfeeding mothers. Effective in June 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) will provide new protections for pregnant employees.

The PWFA is a new law that requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA only applies to accommodations. Existing laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) already make it Illegal to fire or otherwise discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

The PWFA goes in to effect on June 27, 2023. Before then, the EEOC is required to issue regulations to carry out the law. This act requires employers to provide a temporary reasonable accommodation to workers with medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, barring an undue hardship to the employer. Many lawmakers believe that the new law will close a gap, because present laws do not necessarily recognize pregnancy alone as a disability entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The act applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

The legislation is an attempt to provide “common-sense protections for pregnant workers, like extra bathroom breaks or a stool for workers who stand, so they can continue working while not putting extra strain ”on their bodies, said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

Under the PWFA Employers Cannot:

  • Require an employee to accept an accommodation without a discussion about the accommodation between the employee and the employer.
  • Deny a job or other employment opportunities to a qualified employee or applicant based on the person’s need for reasonable accommodations.
  • Require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided that would let the employee keep working.
  • Retaliate against an individual for reporting or opposing unlawful discrimination under the PWFA or participating in a PWFA proceeding such as an investigation.
  • Interfere with any individual’s rights under the PWFA.

The PUMP Act expands workplace lactation accommodations to exempt (salaried) workers. It is effective immediately for companies with more than 50 Employees nationwide. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires that employers provide a reasonable time to express breastmilk, but it applies only to hourly employees.
Here are the primary features of the PUMP Act:

  • Applies to all employees—exempt and non-exempt—with the exception of certain airline employees.
  • Reasonable pumping breaks must be provided to breastfeeding employees for two years after a child’s birth.
  • An employer is not required to compensate non-exempt employees for pumping breaks as long as such employees are relieved of all work during that break. If the employee is not completely relieved of work duties during the entirety of the pump break, then the time must be compensated.
  • The location for pumping breaks must be somewhere other than a bathroom and must be private and free from intrusion.
  • If an employee believes her employer is violating the PUMP Act, the employee must provide notice and allow the employer ten days to Remedy the matter.

What does all of this mean for employers?
Now is the time for employers to take the following actions:

  • Updating existing personnel policies.
  • Train managers on the changes under the new laws.
  • Create a process, similar to the ADA, to create interactive dialogues for pregnancy-related limitations.

The PWFA and the PUMP Act expand the rights available to pregnant workers but use the guidance of present laws as a way to promote compliance by employers. Employers should review the new laws to ensure that they are integrating the new laws into their handbooks. If you have any questions about these new acts please call our office to speak with our experienced employment law attorney.

 

As Afghans Resettle, A Reminder for Wisconsin Employers on Federal Discrimination Law

As Afghans Resettle, A Reminder for Wisconsin Employers on Federal Discrimination Law

Fort McCoy in Wisconsin recently became the temporary home of thousands of Afghan refugees following the U.S. military withdrawal in Afghanistan. As of this writing, Wisconsin has been designated by the U.S. Department of State to permanently receive approximately 400 Afghan refugees within state boundaries. This means that many Afghan refugees may be applying for employment throughout Wisconsin. This situation presents a good opportunity for employers to review their obligations under federal law with respect to considering non-citizens for hire.

The Immigration and Nationality Act

Under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), employers generally cannot make hiring, firing, recruitment or referral decisions based on a worker’s citizenship status. Citizenship status discrimination generally occurs when an employer refuses to recruit, refer, hire or fire someone because of the person’s citizenship or immigration status. One example of citizenship status discrimination is when employers limit jobs to U.S. citizens without legal justification.

Employers must use the Form I-9 to verify the worker’s identity and permission to work within three days after the individual begins working for the employer. Federal law generally allows workers to choose which valid, acceptable documentation to present to their employer to prove their identity and permission to work in the U.S. regardless of their citizenship, immigration status or nationality. Employers that discriminate in this process against individuals with permission to work in the U.S. might violate the INA.

 About Afghan Immigrants’ Employment Rights

The U.S. Department of Justice recently issued a fact sheet on Afghan immigrants’ employment rights. That fact sheet can be found here:  https://www.justice.gov/crt/page/file/1445236/download. According to the sheet, some Afghan refugees may have received special permission to work in the United States. Some individuals may have status as Special Immigrant Visa holders and may have permanent residence in the U.S. Other individuals, referred to as “parolees,” can work in the U.S. if the U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants them permission to do so. In such instances, the Department of Homeland Security will issue the refugee an Employment Authorization Document, often referred to as an “EAD” or Form I-766.

Refusing to hire Afghans with special immigration status may itself be a violation of the INA, subjecting the employer to investigation, complaint and fines from the U.S. government and prosecuted through the U.S. Department of Justice.

If an employer is seeking employee applicants, it should avoid violating the INA by not implying that it engages in citizenship status discrimination. Examples of possible violations of the law include statements as follows:

  1. “H-1Bs or OPT Candidates Preferred;”
  2. “Only U.S. Citizens;”
  3. “Only Green Card Holders;” or
  4. “Must Present U.S. Birth Certificate.”

For general or specific information about avoiding discrimination in the hiring process with respect to Afghan refugees or others who are not U.S. citizens, contact your employment law attorney and review your obligations under the INA.

 

Non-Compete Agreements Are Ripe for Review

Non-Compete Agreements Are Ripe for Review

As many employers and employees know, non-compete agreements are fast becoming a centerpiece of many employer-employee relationships. A non-compete may not only protect a company’s confidential information from disclosure, but also restrict an employee who leaves to work for a competitor. Non-competes may also describe the duration of such restriction and geographic limitations.

Employers favor such restrictions because they protect their business interests in relation to their competitors. Employees dislike such restrictions, because they inhibit their practical choices when they leave one employer for another. Courts tend to look suspiciously at non-compete agreements because they limit the free flow of labor resources across the broader economy. Yet, when non-compete agreements are carefully drafted, they have been upheld by state and federal courts.

It may soon be time for employers to review their non-compete agreement due to a new presidential executive order that asks the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “curtail the unfair use of non-compete clauses and other clauses or agreements that may unfairly limit worker mobility.”

Each state has its own rules that regulate how far non-compete agreements can go in restricting the movement of former employees. Wisconsin’s rules regarding non-compete agreements are found in § 103.465, Wisconsin Statutes. Wisconsin law requires non-compete agreements to be properly limited in duration, scope and geographic area, among other limitations.

What role will the FTC play in changing the non-compete landscape? Most observers believe the agency will first conduct a state-by-state review of non-compete agreements. Then the FTC is likely to propose limits on the types of professions that may be subject to non-compete agreements.

As the landscape for non-compete agreements undergoes federal examination and likely recommendations for changes, employers and employees are well advised to consult with their attorneys for the latest developments with respect to the enforceability of non-compete agreements in Wisconsin and across the nation.