Section 1103 of the Labor Code states as follows: “No employer shall coerce or influence or attempt to coerce or influence his employees through or by means of threat of discharge or loss of employment to adopt or follow or refrain from adopting or following any particular course or line of political action or political activity.”
When Politics Gets in the Way of an Employee’s Job
The employer will likely be able to refuse to hire a potential employee or even terminate an existing employee for reasons indirectly related to politics. For example, an employee might try to solicit votes over a company phone during working hours, or an employee might be consistently late coming in or returning from lunch because he or she was engaged in political activities.
Employees Must Exhaust Their Administrative Remedies
If an employee is contemplating filing a lawsuit against his or her present or former employer that alleges attempting or coercing employee to refrain from political activities, that employee must first exhaust his or her administrative remedies through a claim with the California Equal Opportunity Office. The California Department of Food and Agriculture maintains an Office of Civil Rights, and that’s where the Equal Opportunity Office is to be found. Filing a claim there is a prerequisite to filing a political rights lawsuit against an employer. It’s only if the claimant is unsuccessful in this administrative proceeding that he or she might be able to file a lawsuit alleging the employer conduct contemplated by section 1102.
If you have been threatened to be fired, or if you were fired for engaging in political activities, contact us for a consultation about exhausting your administrative remedies and filing a lawsuit.
Contact our California Labor and Employment Lawyers today.
