Many business owners and leaders are asking the question about whether they can prohibit political discussions or not.  The quick answer is "yes".  If you refer to your handbook on topics related, this certainly can support that.  Beyond that, these are discussions that are not conductive to a team environment and often result in conflict, which can escalate, given the climate now.  Such discussions are not "work related".

Check first to see what policy you have in place that you can point to as a reference on organization policies related.   Keep in mind however, there are certain topics covered under the National Labor Relations Act that allow employees to discuss certain topics, but you need to limit this discussion to occur on "their own time" lunch, breaks, social media and after work discussions.

For the current discussions of focus in political discussions this go around, there are many topics that can be discriminatory and considered harassment such as those specifically related to women, religion and national origin fpr starters.  Such discussions can be unlawful and must be monitored and handled promptly if you hear of this occurring.  See your policies such as "anti discrimination", "anti harassment", "workplace violence" etc.

Finally, it is time to consider "training or retraining" on the topics of harassment, discrimination, workplace violence, code of ethics and expected, appropriate behaviors in the workplace. I call it RESPECT.TRAINING...everyone deserves it and to be respectful will serve all employees well using good judgement when speaking their mind!

As always, if JBM can guide you, please do not hesitate to reach out!