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Political Activities in the Workplace: Employer Policies, Employee Complaints

Requiring Donations, Restricting Speech, and Other Campaigning and Fundraising Issues

Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Conducted on Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Recorded event now available

or call 1-800-926-7926

This CLE course will guide counsel on the panoply of legal issues arising out of political activities in the workplace and provide tools to avoid workplace disruption and liability. The panel will address matters from simple (time off to vote) to quite complex, such as what level of political discourse to permit or disallow.

Description

The volatile political environment in which businesses operate today is rife with political-campaign and election-related legal risks. Some issues (like giving employees time off to vote) are simple while others, like campaign finance matters, are complex but subject to an identifiable body of law.

Experiences from the last few election cycles suggest that businesses (or individuals in management positions) may seek to influence employee voting behavior by carrot and stick. Employees with different political views or goals than their employers or managers face an uncomfortable predicament of how to respond to workplace political pressure.

A company's general counsel must know the legal challenges created by a politically charged work environment. Though stifling all political speech may be theoretically safe, it may be unrealistic and subject to legal challenge.

Listen as a cross-section of employment law and election law practitioners outlines the legal landscape for the workplace in today's political environment. Our panel will provide guidance on what employers and employees should and should not do.

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Outline

  1. Overview of election law sources
    1. State
    2. Federal
  2. Established or guided areas of the law
    1. Campaign finance
    2. Time off for voting
  3. Emerging areas for concern
    1. Employer-management solicitation of funds
    2. Employer-management political pressure
    3. Quid pro quo
    4. Office bans on political discussions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other high priority matters:

  • Identifying hot-button legal risks in election years
  • Tapping into resources to legally address those issues
  • Recognizing permitted and unpermitted behaviors
  • Determining appropriate policies and procedures
  • Banning political discourse in the workplace

Faculty

Oppel, Jerald
Jerald J. Oppel
Senior Counsel
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz

Mr. Oppel represents manufacturers, construction contractors, private schools, hospitals, nursing homes, ship owners...  |  Read More

Spiggle-J. Thomas
J. Thomas (Tom) Spiggle
Owner
The Spiggle Law Firm

Mr. Spiggle founded Spiggle Law to help individuals facing difficult workplace issues. As a former prosecutor with...  |  Read More

Access Anytime, Anywhere

Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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