An employee can easily get fired for speaking his or her mind. The constitution grants individuals freedom of free speech but when it comes at the workplace, various laws and contract controls what get said. For instance, a staff is prohibited by the insider trading and trade secret laws from giving out any information about the organization finances and transactions. However, some laws such as the National Labor Relations Act favored the employees’ freedom of speech but limited to discussion on wages, organizing unions and working conditions. Personal gripes, whistleblowing and calling out of names are not protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Acts such as whistleblowing can be very effective on matters of both physical and sexual abuse or misappropriation of funds by the top management. Therefore, efforts to restrict free speech at work inhibit whistleblowing hence raise questions affecting one’s rights.

No law protects staff from termination due to differing with the boss on matters of political or organization affiliation. Few cases have emerged, employees been fired since they support a different political party from that of the employer. Therefore, expression of views by the employee are curtailed. When it comes to employers it is vice versa; employers get to express their controversial opinions freely on both personal dis-satisfaction and work-related issues.

Conclusion.

Even though the number of laws protecting staffs wishing to express their right to freedom of speech at a workplace is limited, there are other avenues which are legally compelling that can be used to change this. For instance, if an employee gets punished for breaking a code of conduct, the individual can alternatively raise a grievance. Freedom of speech is an essential right which is supported by the Human Rights Act. However, it is not clear-cut, and limitations put in place which can raise issues affecting individual rights.