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In NYS, Political Harassment is Discrimination in Business and at Work

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Simply put, political affiliation is a protected class from discrimination in NYS.

A real-life example of the reputational and financial impact of political harassment occurred in Belmont, Massachusetts within the last week, when a (now former) National Grid worker in his company truck and on company time was caught on video in Belmont slamming on his truck’s horn and confronting a woman about the political bumper stickers on her SUV.

Some lessons learned from this gentleman’s gaffe that I underscore when conducting NYS Harassment Prevention training (P.S.: the deadline to conduct your workplace’s first annual NYS Sexual and Other Harassment Prevention training is this Wednesday, October 9, 2019):

  • As mentioned above, don’t harass others because of their political affiliation – it’s protected from discrimination in NYS.
    • Don’t discuss politics at work. Not only will you have more time to do your job, it will also contribute to the retention of your job.
  • There are video cameras everywhere – most of us carry video cameras on our phones, for example. Video does a great job of documenting discriminatory conduct in the workplace.
    • Engaging in political affiliation harassment while in your company truck on company business and being videoed will at minimum get you fired, as well as damage your reputation to the extent that no other employer will want to hire you.

National Grid’s statement on the gentleman’s firing also underscores that their former employee engaged in discriminatory behavior while at work:

“We at National Grid were deeply concerned earlier this week upon learning from one of our customers in Belmont, Massachusetts, of a troubling exchange she had with an on-duty National Grid employee. Upon learning of the incident, we reviewed the video evidence, apologized to the customer for what she experienced and, as of today, the worker in the video is no longer an employee of National Grid. Our strong commitment at National Grid to inclusion and diversity includes demonstrating respect at all times to one another as fellow human beings.”

What do you do to prevent political affiliation harassment, in business and at work?