Source: https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/dear-littler-can-we-discipline-employee-who-took-knee-during-anthem
Timestamp: 2018-02-25 11:53:05
Document Index: 583290204

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 98', '§ 98', '§ 31', '§ 2', '§ 301', '§ 34', '§ 157']

Dear Littler: Can We Discipline An Employee Who "Took a Knee" During the Anthem? | Littler Mendelson P.C.
1 See Kevin Kraham, Addressing Post-Election Tensions in the Workplace, Littler Insight (Nov. 18, 2016).
2 See Sean Gregory, All Across the Country, Athletes Are Fueling a Debate About How America Defines Patriotism, Time, Sept. 22, 2016.
3 Kaepernick was not signed to play in the NFL this season, an absence that has raised its own questions.
4 Note that public employees (i.e., those that work for a governmental entity) are entitled to some First Amendment protections in their workplace because their employer is a government. Special rules may also apply to employees who have written contracts with their employers or are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, depending on the terms of those contracts.
5 Zoe Argento, Dear Littler: Can A Boss Fire Someone for Off-Duty Political Activities?, Dear Littler (Jan. 20, 2017).
6 Cal. Lab. Code §§ 98.6(a), 1102. The law also covers employees who are family members with people who have engaged in conduct protected by the law. Cal. Lab. Code § 98.6(e).
7 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51q. Some of these laws provide exceptions for public or religious employers, or for off-duty employee conduct that creates a material conflict with respect to the employer’s business interests.
8 D.C. Code §§ 2-1401.01, 2-1401.02, 2-1402.11.
9 For purposes of this discussion, we assume the employee’s conduct is “off-duty” and constitutes “political activity” within the meaning of such laws. Moreover, “taking a knee” during the playing of the national anthem is entirely legal. While a federal code suggests how citizens should behave during the anthem, it is not criminal; it is purely informational. 36 U.S.C. § 301 (stating that individuals in uniform “should give the military salute,” service members not in uniform may choose to do so, and “other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart”). The First Amendment prohibits the government from enforcing these guidelines against private citizens. Indeed, it is well-settled that individuals have a Constitutional right to burn the flag in protest, if they choose to do so. Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).
10 For example, a private employer in Indiana cannot require an applicant or employee to divulge whether he or she is a firearms owner or condition employment on his or her agreement to forego such ownership. Ind. Code § 34-28-8-6.
11 29 U.S.C. § 157.
12 Eastex, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 437 U.S. 556, 564–65 (1978).
13 Ronald Meisburg, N.L.R.B., Guideline Memorandum Concerning Unfair Labor Practice Charges Involving Political Activity, Memorandum GC 08-10 at 8 (July 22, 2008).
15 If so, or if your employer contemplates adopting such a policy, be aware that such policies are generally permissible—so long as they are tailored to purely political speech and comply with guidance issued by the NLRB. The NLRB has asserted that workplace rules or policies that dissuade non-supervisory employees from exercising their rights to advance their “mutual aid or protection” can run afoul of Section 7. See Richard F. Griffin, Jr., N.L.R.B., Report of the General Counsel Concerning Employer Rules, Memorandum GC 15-04 (Mar. 18, 2015); see also Ilyse Schuman & William E. Trachman, Election 2016: Political Speech and Activity in the Workplace, Littler Insight (Sept. 29, 2016).
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