Does your organization have a policy on political speech?
More importantly: Do your employees know what it is?
Download a free political speech policy for your organization.
The 2024 election approaches. As we get closer to November, it will be a very contentious political period – both online and in person – as Americans grapple with their voting decisions. Politics can inspire heated emotions and lead even the most unflappable person to lose their cool, which creates heightened public relations risk through the political season. An organization with no rules for guiding employee political speech is at heightened risk for a public relations crisis.
Now is the time to review, refine, and share your organization's policy on employee political speech. There is a fine line between restricting speech, which will make employees feel muzzled, and having no rules at all, which carries a high risk of creating a PR nightmare. To get you started, here's an outline of a middle-of-the-road political speech policy. For a more nuanced approach, ELM Communications can guide your organization with consultation and execution support. Contact us for a free consultation.
The takeaway? Plan to have your policy finalized and communicated to employees before the general election officially starts with the first general election debate on June 27.
Quick recap: The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Remember: The First Amendment does not limit private employers; it restricts only government actions. Therefore, as a private employer, you can set guidelines on political speech in the workplace or on social media in most states.
Best Practices for Your Policy:
Clarity and Specificity: Clearly define what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable political speech on social media. Provide specific examples to avoid ambiguity. If your organization is politically oriented in any way, this is the place to define your stance.
Focus on Conduct, Not Content: Emphasize respectful and professional conduct rather than limiting specific political views. For example, prohibit harassment, hate speech, or discriminatory remarks.
Work-Related Context: Specify that employees should not use company resources or time for political activities and should not imply that their political views represent the company.
Confidentiality and Privacy: Remind employees not to disclose confidential company information (or anything else that might be covered by an NDA or HIPAA) when discussing politics or any other topic on social media.
Enforcement and Consistency: Decide the procedure and recourse for violations in advance and ensure that the policy is enforced consistently across all employees to avoid claims of discrimination or unfair treatment.
With these best practices in mind, be sure to make policy documentation easy to access and provide opportunities for employees to ask questions. Internal communications are most successful when employees have resources readily available.