Politics At Work: Managing Political Speech In The Workplace

With election season likely around the corner, Canadian employers may have to navigate and manage disruptive political expression or activism in the workplace. This raises the question of when political speech or activity in the workplace is an employer's business, and how this risk can be managed.

Is political belief a protected ground?

Managing political speech has human rights implications in some jurisdictions. In Western Canada specifically, human rights legislation in both British Columbia and Manitoba includes "political belief" as a protected ground. Political belief is not a protected ground in Saskatchewan or Alberta; however, employers should be mindful of the potential human rights considerations and the location of their employees when addressing political belief disputes in the workplace.