Illinois Policy Institute sues over state law violating employers’ freedom of speech

Illinois law now forbids employers from discussing ‘religious or political matters’ with employees. The Illinois Policy Institute is suing because that restriction on its free speech threatens its ability to operate.

The Illinois Policy Institute is suing in federal court over a new state law that denies its First Amendment right to communicate with its employees.

The lawsuit states Senate Bill 3649, or the “Worker Freedom of Speech Act,” would effectively revoke employers’ right to free speech across the state by criminalizing discussions of political or religious matters during meetings. The law takes effect Jan. 1.

“Illinois has enacted a law that prohibits speech based solely on its content, political or religious,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, which is representing the institute. “The Supreme Court has held that such content-based prohibitions are presumptively invalid. For that reason, SB 3649 should be held unconstitutional.”

The lawsuit states the law would criminalize the operation of certain political and religious organizations across Illinois while preserving the power for public unions and government entities to hold mandatory political meetings. The Illinois Policy Institute regularly holds mandatory meetings on issues of public policy because of the nature of its work, as do other non-profits. Under the new law, these weekly meetings would become illegal, and the organization would be fined $1,000 per employee in attendance.

Experts at the Liberty Justice Center argue the broad definition of “political matters” – which includes changes to legislation, regulation and policy – means it could soon be illegal for organizations across Illinois to host meetings discussing important issues such as the impact of changing regulations on their business or organization.

The law will exempt political parties, public sector unions, government entities and political and candidate committees. While “religious organizations” will also be exempt from the prohibition, the bill fails to define a “religious organization.”

“Government unions can still hold mandatory meetings with captive audiences under SB 3649,” said Mailee Smith, senior director of labor policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. “This means government unions and politicians are once again playing games with Illinoisans’ rights so that they can silence competition and advance their own political agendas.”

The Liberty Justice Center is currently seeking an injunction against the bill following similar efforts to push back on the regulation of employer speech in Minnesota and Connecticut. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, on Aug. 8.