Recently, employers have faced a tough question: Are employees protected when they miss work for political advocacy events?

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently released some guidelines to clear up the confusion. Here’s what HR needs to know:

Some political activities are covered under the “mutual aid and protection” clause of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In the words of the Supreme Court, that means activities workers participate in to “improve their lot as employees” — i.e., things that are directly related to working conditions, such as protesting laws that affect the employees’ jobs.

However, that doesn’t mean employees are allowed to break company policies, such as attendance requirements. So for example, coming in late or leaving early to go to an advocacy event is not protected, even if it was job-related.

The gist: Make sure managers are careful about disciplining employees for political activities, as long as they don’t break any rules or disrupt the work environment.

The can read the NLRB’s guidelines here.

Tags: NLRA, NLRB, political advocacy