Thoughts and Opinions about whether or not Employers should be able to regulate the Lawful Off Duty Conduct of Employees and/or Contractors

I would like all states to make it explicitly illegal for employers to take any kind of adverse action against any employee or contractor due to the “lawful off duty conduct” of any employee or contractor. In other words, under ordinary circumstances, lawful off duty conduct on the part of an employee or contractor should be none of the employer’s business.

I believe that there should be only three exceptions to the foregoing:

  1. If the employer is a religious institution, that religious institution should have a right to prohibit its employees from acting in a way that runs counter to the tenets of that religious institution and/or act in a way to undermine the basic mission of that religious institution whether on or off duty.

  2. If the employer is a political party, that political party should be permitted to prohibit its employees from acting in a manner that runs counter to the interests and/or purpose of that political party whether the conduct is on or off duty.

  3. If the employer is any private business, that private business should be permitted to prohibit the employee (but not independent contractor) from working for any of its competitors in the same industry.

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