New Law Explicitly Prohibits Employers From Holding Mandatory Meetings to Discuss Religion or Politics.
Mandatory Meeting?
Not if it involves religion or politics!
For quite some time now, California employers have been prohibited from coercing or influencing employees’ political activities. In fact, employers were required by law to protect employees engaged in political activities. Well, California took the old law one step further with the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act which went into effect on January 1, 2025. The new law essentially seeks to give employees the freedom to make up their own minds on religion and politics without feeling pressured or intimidated by their employer.
This new law makes it illegal for employers to do (or even threaten to do) any of the following if the employee chooses not to attend an employer’s meeting discussing politics or religion:
the employer cannot terminate the employee,
the employer cannot discriminate against the employee,
the employer cannot retaliate against the employee,
and the employer cannot take any other adverse action against the employee.
In addition to not attending the meeting, the employees can choose to not participate in, receive, or listen to any communication where the employer discusses religion or politics. If an employee is on duty at the time of the meeting and chooses to not attend, the employee is required to be paid while the meeting is held. This is a wholesale ban against employers discussing religion or politics with their employees.
The law describes “political matters” broadly and includes anything “relating to elections for political office, political parties, legislation, regulation, and the decision to join or support any political party or political or labor organization.” Yes, even discussing new laws or regulations can get an employer in trouble with the law. Even something as small as showing favor for one candidate over another in a political election can be included in this very broad definition. The definition of what is considered “political” is quite broad.
Likewise, the law describes “religious matters” broadly including anything “relating to religious affiliation and practice and the decision to join or support any religious organization or association.” Discussing your faith with an employee, which some would consider harmless small talk, would likely fall into this broad definition.
Any employer who fails to abide by the new law may find themselves slapped with a $500 civil penalty per employee per violation. This can lead to a very hefty fine if many employees were sitting in even just one meeting. Once an employee believes the employer violated this new law, the Labor Commissioner may take action against the employer or the employee can file a civil lawsuit against the employer.
There are a few caveats to this new law. This law does not apply to religious corporations, political organizations or parties, education institutions requiring a student or instructor to attend lectures on politics or religion as part of course work, and some non-profits. Finally, the new law reiterates that employers are able to communicate to employees any information that the employer is required by law to communicate or is necessary for the employer to perform his or her job.
What should employers do? First, employers need to consider their own policies to ensure that they are not making any meetings mandatory that may include discussions on religion or politics. Second, employers and their Human Resources Department need to discuss training for managers and supervisors.