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Now that the historic 2008 presidential election is in full-swing, many Americans want to discuss the issues at play and share their viewpoints regarding the candidates. While most employees realize that political discussions at work can make others feel uncomfortable, few consider the implications of using the Internet and e-mail to communicate political messages.
Dallas employment lawyer Keith Clouse advises employees to refrain from sending any political messages on company time and/or using company resources. This includes both e-mails sent to solicit support for a candidate and e-mails sent to comment upon a candidate (even if the employee is reasonably confident that the recipient shares the employee’s viewpoint). Sending any e-mail to solicit funds or support could violate a company policy against non-work-related solicitation. Further, any e-mail with political content could be viewed as containing “inappropriate” content per a more general e-mail policy.
Employers should consider addressing this issue as the election approaches. Mr. Clouse advises employers to remind employees about existing e-mail policies and to request that employees refrain from both sending political messages from company e-mail accounts and including political slogans or links within e-mail signatures.
To discuss a company’s e-mail policies, contact the employment law attorneys at Clouse Dunn Khoshbin LLP at info@cdklawyers.com.
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