Is it legal for an employer to require proof that an employee has voted?

For what purpose?

I would think not just for the purposes of getting them to vote, but possibly if the employee was given paid time off to go vote.

eta: this would be employment / labor law, not election law.

Edit: Yes it's a crime.

I am not an employment lawyer.

No, has nothing to do with time off to vote. The employer is requiring employees to send proof they voted. They are also indicating to employees who they should be voting for.

Doesn't have to be illegal to be unethical

Dad-O-Lot said:

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For what purpose?

I would think not just for the purposes of getting them to vote, but possibly if the employee was given paid time off to go vote.

eta: this would be employment / labor law, not election law.

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This. The secret ballot is sacred. An employer cannot ask how an employee voted and so most just don't ask anything, even if the employee takes paid time off to do so. Not a prudent road to go down.

Just don't do it.

GeorgiAg said:

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They can ask you to vote a certain way, but how you vote is private. An employer can fire you for almost anything unless it is discriminatory, i.e., race, religion, age, etc...

If your employer demands you vote for Trump, you could just lie. If you don't lie and tell him you voted for a vegetable named Biden, I think you could be legally fired.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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https://www.sll.texas.gov/spotlight/2020/11/paid-time-off-and-voter-retaliation/

Highly doubtful.

It's a felony under the Texas election code to threaten to terminate or otherwise retaliate against an employee for not voting a certain way, or to force an employee to reveal how they voted.

This should cover the employee's right to not reveal if they voted at all.

GeorgiAg said:

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They can ask you to vote a certain way, but how you vote is private. An employer can fire you for almost anything unless it is discriminatory, i.e., race, religion, age, etc...

If your employer demands you vote for Trump, you could just lie. If you don't lie and tell him you voted for a vegetable named Biden, I think you could be legally fired.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Going to be shocking, but GeorgiaAg is WRONG.

Sec. 276.001. RETALIATION AGAINST VOTER.

(a) A person commits an offense if, in retaliation against a voter who has voted for or against a candidate or measure or a voter who has refused to reveal how the voter voted, the person knowingly:

(1) harms or threatens to harm the voter by an unlawful act; or

(2) with respect to a voter over whom the person has authority in the scope of employment, subjects or threatens to subject the voter to a loss or reduction of wages or another benefit of employment.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.

Ok, so I looked it up.

Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, at any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing such candidate, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 18 USC 594.

Im Gipper said:

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GeorgiAg said:

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They can ask you to vote a certain way, but how you vote is private. An employer can fire you for almost anything unless it is discriminatory, i.e., race, religion, age, etc...

If your employer demands you vote for Trump, you could just lie. If you don't lie and tell him you voted for a vegetable named Biden, I think you could be legally fired.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Going to be shocking, but GeorgiaAg is WRONG.

Sec. 276.001. RETALIATION AGAINST VOTER.

(a) A person commits an offense if, in retaliation against a voter who has voted for or against a candidate or measure or a voter who has refused to reveal how the voter voted, the person knowingly:

(1) harms or threatens to harm the voter by an unlawful act; or

(2) with respect to a voter over whom the person has authority in the scope of employment, subjects or threatens to subject the voter to a loss or reduction of wages or another benefit of employment.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.

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I think he was being sarcastic...No one believes you can fire someone because of who they voted for.

But can you fire them if they admit to voting for BIden? I mean, there should be other indicators that the employee is braindead, corrupt or otherwise low cog, but I think you would be able to after the fact, no?

Of course, maybe the remaining employees would then say they feel threatened in future elections and violate the referenced code.

The fact scenario is likely never going to come up as that clean of an issue.

Boss: You have to vote for Trump
Employee: I voted for Biden.
Boss: I am firing you solely because you voted for Biden.

Never happen.

Boss: You should vote for Trump.
Employee: yes, bossman.

Boss: Who'd you vote for?
Employee: Trump, of course.
or
None of your damn business!

GeorgiAg said:

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The fact scenario is likely never going to come up as that clean of an issue.

Boss: You have to vote for Trump
Employee: I voted for Biden.
Boss: I am firing you solely because you voted for Biden.

Never happen.

Boss: You should vote for Trump.
Employee: yes, bossman.

Boss: Who'd you vote for?
Employee: Trump, of course.
or
None of your damn business!

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Or the boss can just look at their social media accounts, provided their employee handbook states so.

Whether you voted or not is public record. How you voted is not.

I don't think it's illegal to require proof you took time off. If he asks you to prove who you voted for, that's seems illegal.

A boss demanding this from you leads me to believe OP's username checks out, either because he has a ****ty boss or is a ****ty employee. Seems like an awfully small thing to be requiring proof for.

BluHorseShu said:

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Im Gipper said:

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GeorgiAg said:

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They can ask you to vote a certain way, but how you vote is private. An employer can fire you for almost anything unless it is discriminatory, i.e., race, religion, age, etc...

If your employer demands you vote for Trump, you could just lie. If you don't lie and tell him you voted for a vegetable named Biden, I think you could be legally fired.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Going to be shocking, but GeorgiaAg is WRONG.

Sec. 276.001. RETALIATION AGAINST VOTER.

(a) A person commits an offense if, in retaliation against a voter who has voted for or against a candidate or measure or a voter who has refused to reveal how the voter voted, the person knowingly:

(1) harms or threatens to harm the voter by an unlawful act; or

(2) with respect to a voter over whom the person has authority in the scope of employment, subjects or threatens to subject the voter to a loss or reduction of wages or another benefit of employment.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.

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I think he was being sarcastic...No one believes you can fire someone because of who they voted for.

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Ha, I dissolved my firm in 2009 when my partner and my employees all voted for Obama!

Best financial decision of my professional life.

VitruvianAg said:

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Ha, I dissolved my firm in 2009 when my partner and my employees all voted for Obama!

Best financial decision of my professional life.

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Well done.

Thinice said:

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Is it legal for an employer to require proof that an employee has voted?

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Voter rolls show when a person voted but not who they voted for. They are public information

If your employer is that concerned they can look it up.

For primaries it will show which primary you voted in

Fightin_Aggie said:

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Thinice said:

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Is it legal for an employer to require proof that an employee has voted?

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Voter rolls show when a person voted but not who they voted for. They are public information

If your employer is that concerned they can look it up.

For primaries it will show which primary you voted in

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There are ways to effectively route out liberals in your org. One is requiring them to show up to work on time and put in an effort for 8 hours. Culls the liberal herd pretty quick.

aggiehawg said:

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Dad-O-Lot said:

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For what purpose?

I would think not just for the purposes of getting them to vote, but possibly if the employee was given paid time off to go vote.

eta: this would be employment / labor law, not election law.

---

This. The secret ballot is sacred. An employer cannot ask how an employee voted and so most just don't ask anything, even if the employee takes paid time off to do so. Not a prudent road to go down.

Just don't do it.

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An employer certainly can ask how you voted.

Just like they can ask a woman if she's pregnant, or pick your example. But it's not a smart thing to do because if the employer takes a negative action against that employee in the future, they've set themselves up for possible legal troubles if the employee claims its tied to how they voted, or whatever.

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There are ways to effectively route out liberals in your org.

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Or just listen to them talk for a few minutes.

They can't help themselves. They will out themselves as a liberal in no time.

Im Gipper said:

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Quote:

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There are ways to effectively route out liberals in your org.

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Or just listen to them talk for a few minutes.

They can't help themselves. They will out themselves as a liberal in no time.

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#truth

Thinice said:

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No, has nothing to do with time off to vote. The employer is requiring employees to send proof they voted. They are also indicating to employees who they should be voting for.

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Yeah, you can't do that.

Not sure who you would complain to, but this needs to be outed.

Thinice said:

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No, has nothing to do with time off to vote. The employer is requiring employees to send proof they voted. They are also indicating to employees who they should be voting for.

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super duper extra illegal

Thinice said:

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Is it legal for an employer to require proof that an employee has voted?

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Whether someone voted or not is a matter of public record, at least in Texas.

GeorgiAg said:

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Edit: Yes it's a crime.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Are you allowed to even practice law in Texas?

I know that is illegal and I am not a lawyer.

tamc93 said:

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GeorgiAg said:

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Edit: Yes it's a crime.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Are you allowed to even practice law in Texas?

I know that is illegal and I am not a lawyer.

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I am a Georgia lawyer. I don't do election or employment law. I do not have the entire O.C.G.A. or USC memorized.

GeorgiAg said:

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The fact scenario is likely never going to come up as that clean of an issue.

Boss: You have to vote for Trump
Employee: I voted for Biden.
Boss: I am firing you solely because you voted for Biden.

Never happen.

Boss: You should vote for Trump.
Employee: yes, bossman.

Boss: Who'd you vote for?
Employee: Trump, of course.
or
None of your damn business!

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Isn't that basically all impermissible firings? I bet bosses rarely come out and tell an employee they are being fired for rejecting the boss' sexual advances, for example. That tends to be the big fact issue at trial doesn't it - whether the stated reason for the firing was valid or merely a pretext thrown out in an attempt to legitimize an illegitimate firing? I'm sure it often comes down to whether the stated reasons only suddenly became a problem after the boss suffered a sexual rejection, whether this employee was then singled out to be punished for their supposed transgressions while other employees were given a pass for the same stuff, etc.

Someone DM Dermdoc!

tamc93 said:

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GeorgiAg said:

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Edit: Yes it's a crime.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Are you allowed to even practice law in Texas?

I know that is illegal and I am not a lawyer.

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Good question.

Is he allowed to practice law in Wyoming?

Or Ohio?

Or Maine?

Or Arizona?

I would bet that the answer is that he is allowed to practice law in those states in which he is a member of the bar.

eric76 said:

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tamc93 said:

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GeorgiAg said:

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Edit: Yes it's a crime.

I am not an employment lawyer.

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Are you allowed to even practice law in Texas?

I know that is illegal and I am not a lawyer.

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I would bet that the answer is that he is allowed to practice law in those states in which he is a member of the bar.

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No doubt he would be allowed, but ethically I assume he would have to stay within his area of expertise.

By self admission it is not:

"I am a Georgia lawyer. I don't do election or employment law. I do not have the entire O.C.G.A. or USC memorized."

So his posts have confused the common person (me) that he is an area expert and allowed to practice. He is neither and should be subject to an ethics complaint to the Texas Bar with a reciprocal complaint to the Georgia Bar.

Quote:

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I am a Georgia lawyer. I don't do election or employment law. I do not have the entire O.C.G.A. or USC memorized.

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Then you don't know the federal rules of criminal nor civil procedure, since many states adapted those as their own.

Every trial attorney does have those memorized, if they are worth their salt as a trial attorney.

Quote:

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So his posts have confused the common person (me) that he is an area expert and allowed to practice.

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Have to quibble with you on that. State Bar membership and the ability to practice within that jurisdiction is one thing. Broad for areas. That is why being Board Certified for a specific area of law is a big thing. Even though a lot of that is the number of CLE's taken in a specific field goes very far into getting such status as Board Certified, it does not prevent their taking a case in that area without it.

The old saying about trial attorneys was that they were jack of all trades, master of none. I had an OSHA/construction law client? Study OSHA/Construction law for trial. And that is where the pre=existing knowledge of the rules of procedure get applied. Know those rules and recognize objections and admissiblity issues. Substantive law is statutory construction. Procedural law is knowng how to use it.

The reason there is in house and outside counsel.

aggiehawg said:

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Quote:

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I am a Georgia lawyer. I don't do election or employment law. I do not have the entire O.C.G.A. or USC memorized.

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Then you don't know the federal rules of criminal nor civil procedure, since many states adapted those as their own.

Every trial attorney does have those memorized, if they are worth their salt as a trial attorney.

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Employment and election laws aren't in the rules of procedure.