Jack Kemp

In an article by Ben Shapiro at The Daily Wire, drawing on a Wall St. Journal piece, Shapiro recently stated:

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"In one of the most shocking stories to get little media coverage this year, The Wall Street Journal reported ten days ago that Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg pressured a top executive at his company to apologize for his support of President Trump in the 2016 election, and issue a letter just before that election explaining that he had switched his support to libertarian Gary Johnson.

According to reporters Kirsten Grind and Keach Hagey, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey says that he was put on leave and then fired for his support for Trump. The Journal reported:

In the fall of 2016, as unhappiness over the donation simmered, Facebook executives including Mr. Zuckerberg pressured Mr. Luckey to publicly voice support for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, despite Mr. Luckey's yearslong support of Mr. Trump, according to people familiar with the conversations and internal emails viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Luckey ended up negotiating a $100 million settlement, an acceleration of stock awards and bonuses that he would have received thanks to his sale of Oculus VR to Facebook in 2014. Facebook, for its part, denied that Luckey was fired for his political views. But Luckey was a supporter of President Trump's for years, going back to 2011, when he urged Trump to run for president by mail. In September 2016, The Daily Beast reported that Luckey had given a $10,000 donation to NimbleAmerica, an anti-Hillary ad group focused on trolling the Democratic candidate.""

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Read the rest here.

Dana Mathewson asks:

Dana, that is an interesting question, and I sure didn't know the answer. I did a quick search online and found a few sites that say you CAN be fired for political beliefs.

Take this one, for example.
https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/labor-employment-law/wrongful-termination/can-i-be-fired-for-my-political-beliefs.html

The answer is yes. However, it depends on the context and what state you live in.
Federal Laws

Federal law does little to protect employees from being fired or disciplined for their political beliefs or activities. Some people mistakenly believe that their First Amendment free speech rights extend to the workplace. However, for most employees, this is not the case. The First Amendment prohibits the government from infringing on free speech; it does not apply to private employers. So, unless you work for the government, the First Amendment does not limit your employer in any way. (And, even for government workers, First Amendment rights are not absolute in the workplace.)

However, there are some limited situations in which an employee is protected. For example, the following laws might apply:

* Federal antidiscrimination laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on certain characteristics, such as religion, race, and gender. If your political beliefs or activities are connected with one of these characteristics, you might be protected. For example, if your boss fires you after finding out that you attended a Black Lives Matter rally advocating for police reform, he or she might be targeting you because of your race or affiliation with a particular race—which is illegal under federal law.
* Union laws. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibits employers from taking negative action against employees for union activities. The law also protects nonunion employees who are trying to unionize or who get together to try to improve their working conditions or wages. Because politics often intersect with employment-related issues, such as wages and health care, your activities might be protected under these laws. For example, if you talk to your coworkers about supporting Bernie Sanders and his platform for a higher minimum wage, you might be protected. (See our labor unions page for more information.)"

End excerpt.

Here's another website that says essentially the same thing. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-employers-discriminate-based-on-political-beliefs-or-affiliation.html

This states unequivocally:

What About the First Amendment?

Many people mistakenly believe that the First Amendment of the Constitution protects them from discrimination based on their politics. After all, the First Amendment guarantees our rights to free speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of our religious beliefs, free assembly, and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Shouldn’t these rights protect us from discrimination based on our political beliefs and statements?

The First Amendment does protect our political views—but only from actions taken by the government. Those who work for public employers—the federal, state, or local government—are protected by the First Amendment and might have a valid legal claim if fired for their political beliefs, depending on the circumstances. However, those who work for private employers don’t enjoy these types of job protections under the First Amendment.

Apparently Federal law does not protect your freedom of speech here, but state laws may be applicable, and anti-discrimination laws can be used. Figures; we truly have two classes in this country, separate and unequal. If you can say you are a minority you own the world.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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