Opinion ID: 1901640
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Gower and Lee taking off election day to work on Collins's reelection.

Text: ¶ 24. Section 23-15-871 states in relevant part: It shall be unlawful for any corporation or any officer or employee thereof, or any member of a firm, or trustee or any member of any association, or any other employer, to direct or coerce, directly or indirectly, any employee to vote or not to vote for any particular person or group of persons in any election, or to discharge or to threaten to discharge any such employee, or to increase or decrease the salary or wages of an employee, or otherwise promote or demote him, because of his vote or failure to vote for any particular candidate or group of candidates; and likewise it shall be unlawful for any employer, or employee having the authority to employ or discharge other employees, to make any statement public or private, or to give out or circulate any report or statement, calculated to intimidate or coerce or otherwise influence any employee as to his vote, and when any such statement has obtained circulation, it shall be the duty of such employer to publicly repudiate it, in the absence of which repudiation the employer shall be deemed by way of ratification to have made it himself. Nor shall any employee be requested, directed or permitted to canvass for or against any candidate or render any other services for or against any candidate or group of candidates, during any of the hours within which the salary of said employee as an employee is being paid or agreed to be paid; nor shall any such employee be allowed any vacation or leave of absence at the expense of the employer, to render any service or services for or against any candidate or group of candidates, or to take any active part in any election campaign whatsoever; nor shall any employee at the expense, in whole or in part, of any employer take any part whatsoever in any election campaign, except the necessary time to cast his vote. The prohibitions of this section shall apply to all state, state district, county and county district officers, and to any board or commission and the members thereof by whatever name designated and whether elective or appointive, and to each and every one of those employed by them or any of them. Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-871 (2001) (emphasis added). ¶ 25. Straughter argues that when Robert Lee and Peter Gower took paid vacation leave on election day to campaign for their employer, Collins, the taxpayers of Yazoo County footed the bill for their salaries. That is technically correct, but there is no evidence that the paid vacation time had not been earned, and no authority cited stating that they could not use their earned vacation time as they chose. Admittedly, this kind of situation could easily lend itself to direct or indirect coercion of an employee, which should be carefully guarded against. ¶ 26. Apparently no opinion of this Court has ever interpreted § 23-15-871, but an Attorney General's opinion has stated that [a]s a general rule, public employees may engage in political activities when on personal leave, but any employee who engages in political activity proscribed by Section 23-15-871 while at work, would be subject to disciplinary action. Miss. Att'y.Gen. Op. No.XXXX-XXXX, Warren, February 11, 2000. ¶ 27. We agree with this position and conclude that the statute prohibits public employees from working on behalf of a candidate while on the clock and bars employers from giving the employee additional leave time but does not limit the employee's right to spend vacation time as he wishes (absent coercion by the employer). There is no evidence that Collins coerced Gower and Lee to take time off in order to work on Collins's campaign, and no evidence that Gower and Lee were not entitled to the vacation time they took. Consequently, there is no basis for concluding that § 23-15-871 has been violated.