134: Political Speech in The Workplace: What Nonprofit Leaders Need To Know

Welcome to EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource. I'm Cynthia Rowland, and this is episode 134 of EO Radio Show. In today's show, I talk with my Farella colleagues, Ben Buckwalter and Jackie Gerson, about the nonprofit workplace and political speech issues. As most listeners are well aware, charitable organizations described in Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) cannot engage in candidate campaign activities, and legislative lobbying is only permitted for public charities in limited amounts and limited circumstances. Other episodes of this show go into the details about the tax law limitations on political activities by exempt organizations, and they do vary depending on whether the organization is a private foundation, a public charity, a 501(c)(4), or some other form of exempt organization. Today, however, we are going to talk about the employment law rules that nonprofit employers need to be aware of.

Show Notes:

Benjamin R. Buchwalter Bio

Jackie Gerson Bio

Speech, Safety, and the Law: When Politics Enter the Workplace (Webinar)

Farella 2025 Employment Law Symposium Recordings and Articles

EO Radio Show #113: Nonprofit Employer Return-to-Office Mandates: Best Practices and Litigation Risks

EO Radio Show #6: Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 1: Candidate Campaign Intervention

EO Radio Show #7: Nonprofit Basics: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 2: Legislative Lobbying Activities by Public Charities

EO Radio Show #8: Election Year Issues for Private Foundations and Public Charities Part 3: Private Foundation Approaches to Policy Advocacy Allowed by the Internal Revenue Code

EO Radio Show Hot Topics playlist

If you have suggestions for topics you would like us to discuss, please email us at [e-mail]. Additional episodes can be found at EORadioShowByFarella.com.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be interpreted as, legal advice or opinion.