Can I be discriminated against for political beliefs?

[helloego]

On facebook I have a habit of getting into discussions about the social aspects of politics. Im a conservative, I never use any racial epithets, never threaten violence and I use statistics to substantiate any claims I make. With that being said, conservative opinions are frowned upon today. With colleges and i'm assuming places of work being very liberal is there any way I could not be able to become a nurse because of me using my first amendment rights and expressing my beliefs?

[DowntheRiver]

Just don't do politics at work. Doesn't matter if it is right or not, it just makes things easier for everyone.

[labordude, BSN, RN]

I am a conservative and a nurse. What's your question again.

You may or may not feel like you are in the minority at either school or work. You know there is that Equal Employment Opportunity part of being an employer, they can not discriminate agains you based on your political views.

This is not accurate. The EEO at a federal level does not define political affiliation as a protected category. That being said, many states, counties, and cities do have protective regulations in effect that cover this. If you are a government employee, the CSRA of 1978 applies in many situations. Your private employer can decide what they want to tolerate if no local laws provide you with protection against that. At the end of the day, why bother bringing politics to work? I've never needed them to care for my patients.

[Julius Seizure]

My husband is all about the political posts, and posts about 100 of them a day. It's halfway embarrassing.

My mother is the same way. I cringe every time she posts something political!

[kcochrane]

There are many military members here who wouldn't appreciate your pigeon-holing their service.

Exactly.

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

As opposed to being called nasty women, snowflakes, dirty, etc?

Or a "lib-tard?"

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

Here's the thing, OP...

I seriously doubt that you will face discrimination for civil discourse expressing core conservative principles (e.g. limited government) in an open-minded and respectful fashion.

In my experience, though, many people today are expressing fringe beliefs (e.g. closed borders) and rarely in an open-minded and respectful fashion.

[JMBnurse]

My husband is all about the political posts, and posts about 100 of them a

day. It's halfway embarrassing.

This is true for my hubby, too and it has concerned me. We live in a fairly small town and we have an uncommon last name. My husband is self-employed, so he believes that he can say whatever he wants on Facebook. I stopped posting political comments on FB years ago because even if I wasn't in danger of being fired, do I want my boss, who may be completely politically opposed to my opinions, judging me and having it affect my job? No way... I assume anything I post on FB could be seen by anyone. I have asked my hubby to delete some of his more controversial posts for fear that someone from work would see it and recognize the name. Except for a couple of close friends, I don't FB "friend" people from work and never, ever would I friend a supervisor or manager. I don't identify the company I work for on my FB profile. I did not join the FB group for the company I work for. I have all of my settings set to extremely private. I only friend people that I actually know and are friends and family. I no longer post anything political. I don't ever, ever discuss politics at work and if the subject comes up, I change it or politely excuse myself. These days, people can judge each other so harshly over political beliefs and we are all human. Expressing opposing political beliefs has destroyed some families and lifelong friendships over the past year.

[NotFakingit]

There are many military members here who wouldn't appreciate your pigeon-holing their service.

There are many civilians who don't appreciate their tax dollars being used to subsidize indiscriminate mass murder.

But do you disagree with my advice to the OP? Have you ever worked in a military hospital? Is it not the ideal environment for a politically conservative healthcare worker with zero brain-to-mouth filter?

[SarahMaria, MSN, RN]

Here are some statistics for you: The president is a Republican. The GOP is majority Republican. The Senate is majority Republican.

You do realize that the "GOP" is the Republican Party, right?

[elijahvegas, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

should probably disable all your social media when looking for a job.

freedom of speech means freedom to reap the consequences.

you're free to say what you want. and everyone else is free to judge you based on what you say.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

Here are some statistics for you: The president is a Republican. The GOP is majority Republican. The Senate is majority Republican.

You do realize that the "GOP" is the Republican Party, right?

You are 100% right. I meant to write the House, not the GOP. Can't believe you're the first one to correct me lol!

[Zyprexa]

I am conservative and a nurse, there has been no problem. During the election, patients would often make comments while watching the news, I usually nodded or changed the subject ("Would you like me to help you back into bed, Mrs. Jones?"). I don't talk about politics/religion/anything personal at work, and especially not with patients. I keep my (probably controversial) opinions to myself.

The way I see it is, forcing your political or religious beliefs onto patients or coworkers, getting into heated disagreements, or anything like that would be a problem. Nurses are people, and they are allowed to have their own opinions on politics.

ETA: I don't post ANYTHING political on FB, that's what anonymous things like Twitter and Reddit are for!!!