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Workplace Free Expression

Workplace free expression addresses the ability of employees to engage in expressive activity at or away from the workplace, on subjects related or unrelated to the workplace, free from discipline or the threat of discipline or discharge by the employer.

Blog September 20, 2018

It’s Back to Compelled Speech Time Again

Whose speech is compelled more than anyone’s in the country? Why teachers and students in K-12 schools, of course. From the singing of the National Anthem each morning, to the recitation of historical dates and multiplication tables, to astronomical theories, to dress codes, to the pep rallies, to the macaroni covered mothers’ day cards, to the schedule of mandatory holidays, each school student and teacher is compelled to express herself in the correct fashion at the correct time. 
Blog January 4, 2018

All Joking Aside? Taking Stock of Sexual Humour at Work

Is it ever appropriate to crack sex jokes at work?  I hope so - since I’ve been known to do it on occasion.  But a recent one-liner made by a Canadian parliamentarian has prompted me to interrogate my risque behaviour, and reflect on the line that divides harmless suggestive bantering from sleazy unwanted innuendos.  When it comes to erotic talk at the office, is one person’s discomfort another person’s delight?  If so, how to tell the difference?  And what should be the consequences when we get our signals crossed?