A recent article by Tyler C. Hibler and Delia Berrigan on Managing Political Speech in the Workplace is timely and useful.
- When working overseas, US companies must balance employee rights with local laws and company policies. A key challenge is maintaining a productive workplace while respecting employees’ freedom of speech.
- While the First Amendment protects US citizens from government censorship, it doesn’t apply to private employers. This means companies can set rules about employee speech, such as limiting discriminatory, harassing, or intimidating language. However, they cannot prevent employees from discussing working conditions or terms of employment.
- To ensure a respectful workplace, companies can implement policies that restrict political messaging, campaign literature distribution, and the wearing of political apparel. Now is the time to remind employees of these guidelines.
