Memos from Madison

MEMOS FROM MADISON

Hopefully, you have a written employee handbook that includes sections on employee conduct...

PETE HANSON, CAE, CISR Executive Director, PIA of Wisconsin

ELECTIONS AND THE WORKPLACE

WHAT’S NEW?

What can you do when an employee wears a political campaign t-shirt or MAGA hat to work that causes a conflict with other employees? How about if an employee hands out invitations to a campaign rally or fundraising event and pressures co-workers to participate? These employees may believe they have a First Amendment right to political speech, but does that extend to your place of business? As usual, the answer lies in your employment policies. Hopefully, you have a written employee handbook that includes sections on employee conduct in the workplace and a dress code, as well. Those policies can ban political campaigning, fundraising, emailing, flyers, posters, buttons, attire, etc. First Amendment free speech rights do not apply to private-sector workplaces. In addition, Wisconsin is an “Employment at Will” state. This means an employer can fire an employee for any reason that doesn’t violate federal or state labor laws. A few states have laws addressing retaliation based on political activities or affiliations, but Wisconsin is not one of them. I’m not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV. But, if I were, I would include a list of caveats here. So, here are some cautions: • The National Labor Relations Act does guarantee employees the right to organize a union or to discuss wages and working conditions. So, do not confuse “organizing” speech with

“political” speech. • Whistleblower speech is protected, as well, so you can’t ban employees from lodging (or discussing) a complaint against you or a potential violation of public policy. • The City of Madison has an ordinance prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees for political activities. These would ostensibly be activities outside the workplace, such as political protesting and signing of recall petitions. • Discrimination or disparate impact:

It’s important to enforce these policies consistently and ban all flavors of political speech or activity, if you’re going to implement such policies. Time off for voting: Wisconsin requires employers to grant up to 3 hours of voting leave to employees, as long as the employee notifies the employer prior to election day. The leave does not have to be paid, and the employer can specify which 3 hours of the work shift will be used for the absence. Employers are not required to proactively notify employees of this leave law.

Young Professionals Insurance

Network (YPI Network) – A new young professionals group just kicked off on July 20th, with 60 attendees at a rooftop cocktail reception in downtown Milwaukee. The group will have its next gathering at the start of our Engage 2022 convention in Elkhart Lake, on October 12th. YPI Network will also have a booth at our trade show on October 13th. Stop by and check them out! Contact Natalie White (nwhite@piaw. org) for more details. The 2023 Marketing Kit is out! Website traffic at piaw.org is up 34 percent to 148,000 page views in the last 12 months. Users are up 26 percent to 35,000, annually. Digital readership of this magazine is way up, since we started emailing it to members. Open rates of the Newsline e-newsletter are up 17 percent, since last year! The only thing that’s not up, is the cost of advertising to PIA members in all of these publications. Prices remain the same. Email me at phanson@piaw.org and I can send you the Marketing Kit and answer any questions you may have about our advertising packages.

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