Deanna Forbush quoted in "Alt-right protests: Protected off-duty activity or cause for termination?"

Clark Hill Member Deanna Forbush was quoted by HR Hero in an article relating to the legality of firing employees over conduct outside work hours at protests and rallies. 

Deanna L. Forbush, an attorney with Clark Hill PLLC in Las Vegas, Nevada, said that because of legal restrictions on an employer’s ability to terminate, “most employers take the conservative approach, and do not terminate employment unless they have a legitimate, legal, and nondiscriminatory business reason for doing so.”

“Many employers have policies governing an employee’s off-duty conduct and require that an employee not engage in off-duty conduct that brings disrepute on, or that embarrasses the employer,” Forbush said. “However, even under such a policy, an employee’s simple participation in a public political demonstration would not ordinarily present ‘cause’ for termination unless perhaps the demonstration was abhorrent to the employer’s cause and/or mission.”

But videos showing employees engaging in violence shows evidence of a propensity for violence and could raise safety and/or negligent retention, training, or supervision, “making it impossible for the employer to continue the employee’s employment,” Forbush said.

Article published in HR Hero.