Pemo TheodoreContrary to popular belief, Federal law does not safeguard American employees from getting fired due to their political views. The First Amendment only prohibits the U.S government from impeding freedom of speech. Therefore, this law only protects government employees from losing their jobs based on political activities. There are no limits for the private sector, and you may get fired for declaring your political affiliations.
However, there are specific laws that, in certain situations, offer protection to private sector employees, such as:
The Federal antidiscrimination law- Based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is illegal for employers to discriminate based on a person’s gender, race, national origin, disability, and color. Therefore, if any of your political activities is related to the above characteristics, you might be safeguarded.
Labor law– The National Labor Relations Act; 29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169 prevents employers from firing private employees based on union activity-related to employment matters such as healthcare
State Laws Regarding Political Activities
At-Will Employment
All States except for Montana are at-will employment states. This presumption means that employers can dismiss their employees without good reason and not suffer legal liability. The termination should, of course, not violate any state or federal laws such as those mentioned earlier.
Several States in the U.S prohibit employers from discriminating against their workers based on political affiliations. These include:
Alabama
California
Delaware
Florida
New York
Washington
Administrative Regulations
These are rules that grant several agencies the mandate to regulate and apply laws—for instance, the I.R.S. Internal Revenue Code, section 501(c)(3) prohibits all political activity except non-partisan. Other agencies, such as the Department of Interior and the American Foreign Service, ban political actions at work, as per the Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. §7323(a). Read more via LegalScoops
