I have been officially censored at work because I do not support President-Elect Obama?

  • Thread starter Thread starter $Bling$ $Bling$ $Boy$
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Well, you should support the President of out country. that is patriotic and the right thing to do no matter who you voted for. At the end of the day, we are all American.
 
It sounds like you may have been "discussing" politics in ways that were hotheaded or obnoxious.Personally, as a business-oriented person, I wouldn't hire or retain anyone who made his or her political beliefs known because that can turn off potential clients/customers. And yes, that goes for political views that jive with mine JUST as much as those that don't. If you're living in a very liberal area, that could be the reasoning of your boss. (It's not appropriate to discuss politics in the workplace period, but it's even worse when you're spouting off the view opposite of the majority of your clientele.)@Michael: No, no one is violating anyone's freedom of speech. Only the government can violate your freedom of speech; private individuals and organizations cannot.I don't believe that political belief is grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. Please cite the law if I'm wrong. What if an employer found out their employee was a neo-Nazi? I sure as heck wouldn't want a neo-Nazi in my employ, it would make my business look bad.ETA: Not being able to discuss your political views at work while other people can is unfortunate, and I would hate it. (In fact, I'd quit.) It's also bad business practice because it makes some employees unhappy. Better business practice would be axing all political discussion.But your boss could have several reasons for doing it, like wanting the employees to be harmonious, not wanting to offend customers (like if you live in a really liberal area or the business is one that has mostly liberal clientele, like a co-op grocery or something). Or he may just plain disagree. He still has the right to do it. He also has the right to fire you. It sucks, but there's no law against it. Pretend for a sec like your views weren't normal Republican views shared by 35% or so of the population, but really inflammatory views that 99% of people disagreed with. Like, what if you were a Holocaust denier? Well, people who deny the Holocaust have the legal right to do so; it's protected by the first amendment. They can't be arrested for it. But they CAN be censored at work for it and they can be fired for it. If a law was written that said that people couldn't be censored or fired for their political views at work, it'd apply to Holocaust deniers and neo-Nazis just as much as it would to anyone else, because the law can't make judgments about the validity of beliefs (and we wouldn't want to give the government that much power, either!).Don't think that I don't have sympathy; I am a Libby McLib with a side of left sauce and I have always lived in very red states. But I can separate my feelings about ideology from what I know is right for businesses. Business owners need to be able to do this. And WE need them to be able to do this... if they couldn't, they'd sniff around your background to try to determine your political beliefs BEFORE HIRING YOU just to eliminate that 1% of Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, racists, whatever. I'd hate to be denied a job opportunity because the person in charge disagreed with me. I never NOT gotten along with Republicans at work, we may argue but they become my buds quicker than anyone else.And to the poster who said that the ACLU wouldn't defend a conservative, you're totally wrong. The ACLU defended the privacy rights of *Rush Limbaugh*.
 
I like Obama but it is still wrong to not be able to voice your opinions. I suggest talking to your employer about it and if he doesn't help you, then you should sue or quit. You have rights, and one of them is freedom of speech, and they can't take that from you.
 
You're in a workplace, ignor what you don't want to hear. In fact, politely say I don't discuss politics and walk away. If this actually affects your performance, request a meeting with the manager or your personnel director. If insensitive to your problem, speak to the Risk Management manager or officer..you say it is a big company.
 
Isn't Liberal hypocrisy disgusting?Liberals will even get teary-eyed about how strongly they defend freedom of speech, but that's only for people who agree with them. Seriously, can you imagine Conservatives trying to stifle the free flow of ideas? Not a chance. Just look at college campuses. Practically every time a Conservative is invited to speak, the uncivil Libby students will disrupt the presentation so much that often the speaker is forced to simply leave. Free Speech? You'll never get that from a Libby.I no longer work in an office so this has not happened to me. However, if you say you were "officially censored" at work, wouldn't that mean that they wrote something up regarding you? If there is a paper trail (and you don't mind finding another job afterwards....because once you cause trouble for a company, you are persona non grata, and you'll never get promoted), you could report the company. If you really have the goods on them, contact FOX News. I'm sure they'd love to run this story. Bill O'Reilly would scare the bejesus out of them.
 
If you work for a federal, state or local government, then you have a complaint under the Hatch act. Private employers are free to discriminate based on politics. A private employer may not discriminate in employment decisions based on race, gender, national origin or (in some cases) age, but they are free to discriminate based on all sorts of other reasons. So are you. You are free to refuse to work for someone if you find their political beliefs abhorrent.
 
I had a similar problem during the Bush/Kerry race. A company owner who was pro-Kerry, while I really didn't care for either candidate. I openly agreed with my boss about how Bush had screwed up many things during his first term, but I also openly (and respectfully) spoke about why I didn't like Kerry. This resulted in getting the only window to my office boarded up with a huge "Vote Kerry" sign. At the time, I was hired on a temporary basis, and I don't blame my political views for not being accepted full time with that company when the job was done, but I do often wonder!!!! Incidentally, I voted for Nader that election.You do have freedom of speech, but keep in mind if your views are causing strife in the company you may be dismissed for any number of minor reasons. It may be very hard for you to prove that your views were the reason behind your censoring or dismissal. I simply recommend you ignore your co-workers / management for now. If future events bear out your opinions correct, then you can have the last laugh!
 
I don't believe God made man to be with the same sex, I don't believe our second amendment should be taken from us, I don't believe women should have children so they can get a larger welfare check, I don't believe abortion should be used as a means of birth control, And I don't believe the small business owners should be taxed more so THAT we can Support the life long welfare recipients. Obama supports ALL of this, and I don't think people should vote for a President BECAUSE he is black, or "just" because this persons parents are Democrat. Democrats don't WANT to hear you, and it's only going to get worse.
 
If you work for a large corporation and can substantiate your claims I would say talk to an attorney... Don't call the ACLU because they would not help unless you were being censured as an Obama supporter.
 
I have not been banned from it, but so many people won't even listen to my reasons for not jumping on the Obama bandwagon. Valid as they my reasons might be, considering the fact that the most any of them can say is, he's better than bush.
 
If a group of employees were have pro-active, constructive, calm conversations... and one employee became divisive, irritated, heated, and/or whiny... I would privately suggest that employee remove themselves from the discussion.Based on your question and additional comments, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it's not your opinion being corrected, but your attitude. Political views are rarely appropriate in the workplace in any case. Have you decided to suck it up and stay out of the conversation as your employer has instructed? If not, I'd consider you insubordinate.
 
I find it hard to believe that you were censored for your political views. More likely you were censored for your choice of words when expressing your views and/or for not being respectful of other viewpoints, calling people stupid for voting for Obama, for example is not respectful. I know a guy who uses the N word in every rebuttal regarding Obama. That is not 'political discussion'. That is hate talk.
 
Yes, however I know who I can and can't talk to and about what. We do our best to get along but politics is a very divisive issue and it is definitely along racial lines.
 
Contact the Labor Relations Board, and file a discrimination charge. You have every right to voice your opinion. If the Obama supporters are allowed to voice theirs and you are not, that is discrimination. File a charge, they will cool their heels are be sued.
 
I wasn't really censored but I was told by my Human Relations rep to keep my political opinions to myself, I told him that I would keep my opinions to myself when everyone else was made to do the same thing, and if I was to be give a written notice that I would ensure that everyone else also be written up.We have had layoff's but I made it clear that I would take all legal means available to me if I was on the lay off list since I am over 60 years old. The only way they can legally lay me off is if my position is eliminated, if my position is eliminated then so is the other 3 positions within my group.My HR rep told me to just not be the one that is instigating the discussions and he would support me 100%
 
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