Original post date: May 20, 2019

Political conversations can begin almost anywhere in our society today and at times they can be controversial.  Good or bad, these conversations do occur.  As leaders in organizations, we need to recognize that these conversations can distract employees in the workplace.  What can we do?  Should we do anything?  The most important question, can we legally do anything about these conversations?  All great question.  Below are key answers to these questions in the State of New York.  Remember, check your own state and local laws and regulations, as laws vary throughout the country and change frequently.

  1. Private employers can limit political expression in the workplace—provided they don’t run afoul of protected Section 7 rights or applicable state laws. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act gives non-supervisory employees the right to talk about the terms and conditions of their employment and the right to unionize.
  2. Section 7 of the NLRA protects some political activities, it doesn’t give employees the right to discuss politics that aren’t work-related during work hours. Are they performing work related tasks on work related time or being unproductive and taking extended breaks?
  3. Focus on workplace behavior and not on limiting the beliefs or off-work activities of employees.
  4. Focus on job performance rather than political discussions specifically. If an employee spends too much time engaged in “extra office chat,” regardless of the topic, assume they are not performing their position to your organization’s expectations, or that they may be significantly distracting their co-workers. Have a direct conversation with these employees.
  5. At times these discussions take place during normally scheduled breaks, focus more on the effect on morale, general feelings of good will and culture around the workplace.
  6. Meet privately with the employee(s) involved and discussing how their comments are affecting the team. Communicate very clearly that you’re in no way interested in limiting their political actions outside of work, but that it’s important to stay on task and/or avoid certain topics in the workplace, to protect both the feelings and working time of their co-workers, as well as their own productivity.
  7. The New York State Statute defines political activities as; (i) running for public office, (ii) campaigning for a candidate for political office or (iii) participating in fund-raising activities for the benefit of a candidate, political party or political advocacy group. There are no protections (currently) for political conversations in the workplace.
  8. Remember workplace retaliation, harassment and bullying. Hold employees accountable for your rules and regulations.  Focus on the productivity and morale issues related to these conversations and not specifically on political opinion.

I would like to reference and thank HR on the Move for collaborating with me on the information above, these are conversations we have had regarding political conversation in the workplace.  What about professional sports?  There are different rules and regulations that impact professional sports leagues.  Players sign their own contracts with each team, and teams can set their own rules.  Yes, professional athletes at times will have different rules in the workplace.

NYC Bans Family Planning Discrimination May 20, 2019

“The New York City (NYC) Council has added “sexual and other reproductive health decisions” to the list of protected classes under the NYC Human Rights Law. This new protected category encompasses “any decision by an individual to receive services, which are arranged for or offered or provided to individuals relating to sexual and reproductive health, including the reproductive system and its functions.”
Covered employers: All employers in NYC with four or more employees.
Text of the measure can be found here.”[i]

June 30th Laws and Regulations to Remember[ii]

Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave Notice Due
Massachusetts PFML law requires employers to provide written notice to all of their employees and independent contractors by June 30.

New Jersey Expands Family Leave Laws
Employers with 30 or more employees, in any location, soon will be required to provide those employees working in New Jersey with 12 weeks of job-protected family leave during each 24-month period.

Suffolk County, N.Y., Bans Pay History Questions
Suffolk County employers with four or more employees will soon be prohibited from inquiring about a job applicant’s salary history or relying on that information in determining a new employee’s compensation.

NLRB Uber Drivers Ruling May 2019

“Uber drivers are independent contractors, not employees, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel said in a memorandum issued May 14, making unionization harder for drivers. Uber’s labor costs probably would rise 20 to 30 percent if courts treated them as employees, industry experts say.”  This is a major ruling for employers throughout the country defining contractors and employees.

[i] SHRM Update

[ii] SHRM Email

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Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered CIPD

Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered MCIPD Lean Six Sigma Black Belt ABOUT: Matthew Burr has over 18-years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC, Talentscape, LLC and Co-Owner of Labor Love, a Labor, and Employment Law poster printing company. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was heavy industry manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in compliance auditing, training labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor, and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and operations, while providing strategic HR and operational solutions to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He works as an Adjunct at Alfred State University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Montgomery Community College. He successfully designed an HR Concentration in the business management major that aligned with both SHRM and HRCI certifications, providing opportunities for students to sit for both the SHRM-CP and aPHR certifications upon completion of the degree, concentration, and internship hours as an Assistant Professor of Management at Elmira College (Retired January 2022). Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor, with a current pass rate of 92% on the SHRM-SCP and 83% pass rate on the SHRM-CP and a combined 88% on both exams over a 7-year period of instructing the course (Elmira College, Collin College & The College of St. Rose). Matthew works as a trainer at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College, and HR Instructor for Certification Preparation for the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Factfinder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. PUBLICATIONS: Matthew has over 70+ publications including, American Bar Association (ABA) Experience Magazine, Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), PayScale, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!),” proceeded by his second book, which was published in January 2021, “Slay the Student Loan Dragon: Tips and Tricks on How to Conquer the Student Loan Game” and his most recent book, “Unbox Your HR Career” in July 2023. VOLUNTEER WORK: Matthew is currently the New York State Society of Human Resource Management (NYSSHRM) District-Director. EDUCATION & TRAINING: Additional Training & Development:  SHRM Workplace Coaching and Mentoring Recertification Program, 2020  SHRM Foundation Employing Abilities @Work Certificate, 2020  SHRM Foundation Veterans at Work Certificate Program, 2018  Delta County Chamber of Commerce: Delta Force Leadership Program, 2013 FEATURED IN & ON: Matthew was featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Fox News, Magnify Money, Monster.com, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation, Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Burr Consulting, LLC Capabilities Statement General Information: Burr Consulting, LLC Owner: Matthew W. 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