Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 3, 2024 10:54 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Tarik Khan and Rep. Dan L. Miller, Rep. Jason Dawkins, Rep. Joshua Siegel, Rep. G. Roni Green, Rep. Lindsay Powell, Rep. Dan Frankel, Rep. Robert F. Matzie, Rep. Jim Haddock |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Protecting Workers from Captive Audience Meetings |
| Freedom of speech is an essential constitutional right. Employers should not fire or threaten employees who decline to attend a meeting that involves the employer expressing their views on political or religious matters. Pennsylvania workers should be able to choose to perform their job function over being mandated to listen to their employer’s speech on political or religious issues. We will reintroduce legislation preventing employers from forcing employees to attend meetings that involve the employer discussing their views on political or religious matters. Under our bill, workers cannot be forced to attend these coercive meetings against their will. Our bill would protect workers from threat or actual discipline or termination from declining to go to a captive audience meeting. This bill would also protect employees from being mandated to listen to speech or view electronic, written or other communications on these issues. There would be exemptions for workers who work for a religious or political organization. Several states have already enacted protections for workers from captive audience meetings, including New Jersey, New York, Minnesota, and Connecticut. Please join us in this effort to protect workers by co-sponsoring this important legislation. |