SB 585

Current law prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of age, race,

creed, color, disability, marital status, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual

orientation, arrest record, conviction record, military service, or use or nonuse of a

lawful product off the employer's premises during nonworking hours.

This bill prohibits discrimination against an employee who declines to attend

an employer-sponsored meeting or to participate in any communication with the

employer or with an agent, representative, or designee of the employer, the primary

purpose of which is to communicate opinions about religious or political matters.

Under the bill, discrimination on that basis includes discharging or otherwise

discriminating against an employee because the employee declines to attend such a

meeting or to participate in such a communication or threatening to discharge or

otherwise discriminate against an employee as a means of requiring the employee

to attend such a meeting or participate in such a communication.

The bill provides, however, that it is not employment discrimination on that

basis for an employer to refuse to hire or employ an individual, to suspend or

terminate the employment of an individual, or to discriminate against an individual

in promotion, in compensation, or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment,

because the individual declines to attend such a meeting or to participate in such a

communication if any of the following applies:

1. The employer is a religious association not organized for private profit or an

organization or corporation that is primarily owned or controlled by such a religious

association and the primary purpose of the meeting or communication is to

communicate the employer's religious beliefs, tenets, or practices.

2. The employer is a political organization, including a political party or any

other organization that engages, in substantial part, in political activities, and the

primary purpose of the meeting or communication is to communicate the employer's

political tenets or purposes.

3. The primary purpose of the meeting or communication is to communicate

information about religious matters or political matters that the employer is

required by law to communicate and no information is communicated about those

matters beyond what is legally required.

In addition, the bill does not limit any of the following:

1. The application of the law restricting political solicitation of public officers

and employees while engaged in official duties or while on state property.

2. The right of an employer's executive, managerial, or administrative

personnel to discuss issues relating to the operation of the employer's program,

business, or enterprise, including issues arising under the bill.

3. The right of an employer to offer meetings or other communications about

religious matters or political matters for which attendance or participation is strictly

voluntary.