Can HR Ban Politically Focused Face Masks?
Troutman Pepper Counsel Tracey Diamond was quoted in the September 24, 2020 HR Executive article, “ Can HR Ban Politically Focused Face Masks?”
“Everything goes back to consistency,” says Tracey Diamond, counsel at Troutman Pepper law firm. “Where some companies are getting into legal trouble is they’re changing their dress code in response to someone walking in the door with a BLM mask on. Beforehand, they allowed all types of political expression. Now, all of a sudden, they place restrictions on what employees can wear. It looks like it’s in response to that particular BLM message brought into the workplace.”
. . .
Consistency also applies to free speech. Diamond says her theory is that employees come to work to accomplish specific tasks. Since discussing politics can be a big distraction and interfere with their ability to perform their job, HR may establish rules on prohibiting the expression of political views during the workday as long as they’re consistently enforced.
. . .
Diamond says this highly charged political, economic and health climate presents opportunities for HR to host a broader conversation about respecting both diversity in the workplace and co-worker viewpoints, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum.
“This is a tense time with all sorts of workplace problems,“ Diamond says. “[HR] really needs to think hard about how it can have employees feel comfortable coming to work and getting their job done in an environment that’s respectful to everybody.”