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Employment Law Attorney Scott Mirsky Quoted in Press Coverage of Tips to Prepare for Political Tension in the Workplace

Posted August 5, 2024 at 7:07 AM

Employment Law, Litigation, MM&C Happenings, News & Events, Press

Miller, Miller & Canby’s Scott Mirsky provided insight for a recently-published Law360 article, “4 Tips to Prepare for Political Tension in the Workplace.”  The article focused on the presidential election being about 100 days away, and the line between respectful political debates in the workplace and unlawful conversations that run afoul of anti-discrimination law, particularly if the issues being discussed delve into things like age, race, religion or sex.

The article outlined several tips that employers should consider and shared insights from Mirsky and other employment law attorneys.

According to Mirsky, “Having a detailed policy established can also benefit employers if a heated political conversation or a remark about an issue or candidate that was made in the context of politics and is intertwined with a protected category spurs a discrimination complaint”.

“We’ve … encouraged employers [to] remind their supervisors to really limit or avoid having political discussions, if possible, because you may end up showing that you have a discriminatory belief, which then may be used against the company in a subsequent claim or lawsuit,” Mirsky said.

Mirsky added “that’s really where my concern lies with issues regarding political speech,” the line is so blurry between … political expression and when it might move into sort of evidence of a discriminatory motive for a subsequent claim that someone may file.”

Read the full Law360 article here (requires subscription).

Scott Mirsky is a Principal in Miller, Miller & Canby’s Employment Law and Employment Litigation practice, with more than 20 years of experience representing individuals and businesses in diverse civil matters throughout the Washington, DC region.  He has experience handling non-compete and trade secret disagreements, employment claims, issues concerning independent contractors, complex construction issues, wage and overtime disputes under the FLSA and state law, and breach of contract claims. To learn more about his practice, contact Scott at samirsky@mmcanby.com

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