Worker Freedom Act
Summary: The Worker Freedom Act prohibits employers from requiring workers to attend meetings where the employer lectures on religious or political beliefs, including beliefs about joining a union.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act shall be called the “Worker Freedom Act.”
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
(A) FINDINGS—The legislature finds that:
1. Increasingly, employers are using mandatory meetings to force their religious and political beliefs on workers.
2. This kind of intimidation and coercion is un-American.
3. The state has a long history of protecting employees in the workplace, including minimum wages, prohibitions against discrimination, workplace safety standards and workers’ compensation.
(B) PURPOSE—This law is enacted to protect workers from political and religious coercion.
SECTION 3. WORKER FREEDOM
After section XXX, the following new section XXX shall be inserted:
(A) DEFINITIONS—In this section:
1. “Employer” means a person engaged in business that has employees, including the state and any political subdivision of the state.
2. “Employee” means any person engaged in service to an employer in a business of the employer.
3. “Labor organization” means any organization that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
4. “Political matters” means the decision to join or not join any lawful political, social or community group or activity or any labor organization.
(B) PROHIBITION OF MANDATORY MEETINGS ON POLITICS, RELIGION OR JOINING A UNION
1. No employer or employer’s agent, representative or designee may require its employees to attend a meeting or participate in any communications with the employer or its agents or representatives, the purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s opinion about religious or political matters.
2. No employer or employer’s agent, representative or designee shall discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize, or threaten to discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize, any employee:
a. As a means of requiring an employee to attend a meeting or participate in communications described in paragraph 1, above, or
b. Because the employee, or a person acting on behalf of the employee, makes a good faith report, verbally or in writing, of a violation or a suspected violation of this section, except that such prohibitions shall not be applicable when the employee knows that such report is false.
3. Employers shall post a notice to employees of employee rights under this section. Such posting shall be in a place normally reserved for such employment-related notices and in a place commonly frequented by employees.
4. Nothing in this section shall prohibit:
a. A religious organization from requiring its employees to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or to participate in any communications with the employer or its agents or representatives, the primary purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s religious beliefs, practices or tenets; or
b. A political organization from requiring its employees to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or to participate in any communications with the employer or its agents or representatives, the primary purpose of which is to communicate the employer’s political tenets or purposes.
(C) ENFORCEMENT
1. Any aggrieved employee may enforce the provisions of this section by means of a civil action brought no later than ninety days after the date of the alleged violation in the court for the judicial district where the violation is alleged to have occurred or where the employer has its principal office. The court may award a prevailing employee all appropriate relief, including rehiring or reinstatement of the employee to the employee’s former position, back pay and reestablishment of any employee benefits to which the employee would otherwise have been eligible if such violation had not occurred. The court shall award a prevailing employee treble damages, together with reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit an employee’s right to bring a common law cause of action against an employer for wrongful termination or to diminish or impair the rights of a person under any collective bargaining agreement.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.