Can You Say That at Work?
Learn how free speech laws actually apply in the workplace—and where they don’t. We’ll break down the difference between public and private employers, protected concerted activity, political expression, and practical steps Utah businesses can take to balance compliance with a respectful, productive work environment.
Can You Say That at Work? Understanding Free Speech in the Utah Workplace
Questions about free speech at work have become increasingly common for employers. In this Fired Up Fridays webinar, attorney Heather Burton of Employer-Lawyer explains how employee speech is treated in the workplace, what rights employees may have, and when employers can still step in to protect legitimate business interests.
A major takeaway from the presentation is that employee speech is broader than just spoken words. It can include verbal comments, emails, text messages, flyers, social media posts, symbolic conduct, grooming choices, and even participation—or refusal to participate—in certain workplace activities. Because speech takes so many forms, employers need to think carefully about how workplace policies are written and enforced.
The webinar explains that employers can generally regulate speech inside the workplace when doing so is necessary to protect legitimate business interests such as productivity, workplace harmony, safety, legal compliance, confidentiality, and customer relationships. Employers may also regulate certain employee speech outside the workplace if it interferes with business operations, harms client relationships, damages the company’s public image, undermines the employer’s core mission, or exposes confidential information.
At the same time, employers do not have unlimited authority. Burton highlights two important legal limits on employer regulation of employee speech. The first is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which can protect certain employee communications about wages, hours, and working conditions. For example, employees may have legal protection when discussing pay, workplace policies, or other terms of employment with co-workers. However, not all speech is protected—individual complaints unrelated to group activity, reckless falsehoods, harassment, and speech that disrupts work may still fall outside those protections.
The webinar also focuses on the Utah Anti-Discrimination Act, which places additional limits on how Utah employers may regulate employee expression. In some circumstances, Utah law protects certain religious, moral, political, and personal expression, both inside and outside the workplace, as long as that expression remains reasonable, non-disruptive, non-harassing, and does not directly conflict with essential business-related interests.
One of the key challenges for employers is striking the right balance. Employers should avoid enforcing workplace rules in a way that appears selective or inconsistent, while still protecting the business from speech that creates legal risk, disrupts operations, or damages important relationships. In other words, the issue is rarely as simple as “employees can say anything they want” or “employers can ban anything they dislike.” The answer depends on context, the nature of the speech, and the laws that apply.
For business owners and HR professionals, this webinar offers a helpful overview of how to think about workplace speech in a practical and legally informed way. As workplace disputes over speech continue to evolve, understanding these boundaries can help employers respond more confidently and reduce risk.
If your business needs help reviewing workplace speech policies, handling employee complaints, or navigating Utah employment law issues, contact Employer-Lawyer for guidance.
