Human Resource Blog

Free speech in the workplace

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There is an employee at our company that basically hates the world and complains about any activities (lunches, parties, etc.) and reports almost everything as “offensive”. Her team is starting to feel rather oppressed by their employer as a result of this lady’s psychotic behavior. Every joke or item they put up in their private work area gets reported. The latest was a funny sign her husband got her. It was a humorous “50s” sign with an innocent-looking lady and the text “I haven’t had my coffee yet, don’t make me have to kill you”. I mean, come on, that is not offensive. What are an employees rights in the workplace regarding their private workspace and free speech. I’m sure if an employee put up a cross and the lady complained the employees would have rights. Thanks!

Your last full sentence raises a really interesting point of constitutional law. Actually, there is no labor law that directly addresses the display of religious artifacts in the workplace. Employers are required to make reasonable accommodation for an employees sincerely held religious belief. So, for example, Mennonite women may be permitted to wear long skirts instead of uniform pants, if their religion so dictates. However, we are not aware of any religion that requires the display of artifacts in the workplace. In fact, this might well be seen as infringing on the rights of other workers, who do not share the religion. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the federal law prohibiting discrimination based on religion, also protects workers from proselytizing — from people trying to convert them at work. A lawsuit on this might well go all the way to the US Supreme Court.

The same basic issue is involved in the rest of the post. Yes, this woman sounds like a humorless old drone. However, many employers have rules against conduct that is offensive to coworkers. When the coworker complains, HR is probably right in backing her up. Each employer can set their own standards on what is acceptable in the workplace, as long as they are within the law. Many employers would tolerate almost any joke as long as it was not racial, agest or sexist and did not involve sex or death. That leaves a very, very wide latitude of humor.

Sadly, homicide is the 2nd highest cause of death in the workplace and it is increasing. So many employers discourage jokes about killing coworkers, and rightfully so. Most companies have rules against making threats or suggesting violence against employees, even in joke.

What passes as youthful hijinks at one place of employment may be totally unacceptable at another — or vice versa. During the height of the Anthrax scare, when many people including members of Congress were receiving deadly spore in the mail, one of our HR pros worked with a young jokester. This young man thought it would be funny to mail envelopes full of white powder to his boss and other top managers, with a note inside that said, \\\\\\\”You are dead.\\\\\\\” Unfortunately, he was terminated immediately and his conduct reported to the police. Even the victims of this ruse admitted that it was meant to be funny, rather than threatening. Unfortunately, it was a clear violation of company policy.

Every corporate culture is different. This workplace seems to be one of good-natured fun, and it sounds like this lady just does not fit in. However, the employer has a responsibility to ensure that jokes do not target protected groups (ie based on race, color, disability, age, sex, national ancestry or religion) or condone violence. For jokes that fall outside of that range, the HR department would be well within their rights to say, \”This cartoon is acceptable under our company standards.\”