September 09, 2004

Employers in Missouri might not want to react hastily if a newly hired staffer wears an offensive political t-shirt into the office: according to the Kansas City Business Journal, a state law threatens a one-year prison sentence for employers that try to "prevent an employee from engaging in political activities." It seems the law has never been tested, but unless an employer prohibits its employees from displaying controversial messages of any sort on their person, it may not be free to prohibit electioneering messages. A bit of Google searching turns up the quoted phrase as part of a 1998 bill introduced into the Missouri legislature (PDF) which (if the article's account is accurate) we surmise may have passed in some form. (via Employer's Lawyer).