California laws, specifically the Labor Code 1101 and 1102, explicitly prohibits employers from partaking in any form of discrimination based on political affilliation, which these laws explain can happen in three main ways:
- Setting or trying to enforce any kind of policy that seeks to prevent or dissuade employees from engaging in any form of political activity (including but not limited to protesting, running for political office, or engaging in a third party’s political activities) outside of the employee’s working hours.
- Attempting to control employees’ political activities or affiliations via threats of political activity retaliation.
- Retaliating against an employee (either through wrongful termination, denial of requested time off, or in any other ways) for their expressed political beliefs or activities.
Even if Political affiliation does not fall under the strict definition of a protected class in California, state-wide political workplace retaliation laws protect employees’ rights to participate in on-job-related, political activity outside of work hours.
It is important to know that, under these conditions, it is still legal for an employer to exercise discretion when it comes to situations where an employee’s political affiliations or activities would represent a disruption in the workplace. In this context, for example, it would be unlikely that Labor Codes 1101 and 1102 could be used to protect an employee from being asked not to engage in political discussions with clients or customers while on working hours. Something similar would occur if an employee tries to use their job position to promote political opinions or ideals not supported by the employer.
California employees who see their workplace activities disrupted due to their employers punishing them in retaliation for their political affiliations are likely to be victims of a violation of Labor Code 1101 and/or 1102. Any affected employee may be able to file lawsuits against their employers under different charges, including workplace discrimination, demotion, public policy wrongful termination, or even wrongful constructive termination if it were to apply.