THE GUIDELINES OF A POLITICS POLICY

If you do create a policy about politics, what should it say? These questions will help you decide.

Should employees be allowed to collect petition signatures or promote a candidate or issue in the workplace?

No. Your policy should ban employees from promoting a candidate or cause on company time, or using company resources, says Jaime Lizotte, HR solutions manager of compliance specialist ComplyRight: “It’s the employer’s responsibility to keep the workplace safe from hostility.” T-shirts are simply unprofessional. Pens and coffee mugs? Permissible.

Where is the line between opinion and harassment?

Tough call. “Employers can limit conversation viewed as divisive or harassing while workers are on the clock,” says Evan J. White, co-founding partner at White Harris, which specializes in managementside employment law. But it’s easy to trip over legally protected discussion, such as employees talking about how to improve workplace conditions. “If an employee says, ‘We’d be better paid if our boss was white and not an immigrant,’ it’s really easy to find yourself in those cross hairs,” says White.

When would you discipline or fire an employee over politics?

Paul English of Lola says that if someone were to publicly post racist comments, “as soon as that became a topic of discussion at work, it would be a firing offense because they’re making work a hostile environment.”