Workplace First Amendment Rights (H 5516, S 447)

As an organization that deeply values freedom of speech, our organization was very sympathetic to the goal of this bill, which would have created a broad statutory right to free speech and the free exercise of religion for all employees in the private sector. However, we opposed the legislation because its breadth and statutory coverage potentially interfered with the free speech rights of employers and, just as importantly, the rights of other employees to be free of a hostile work environment. This legislation passed the Senate, but died in the House.