I don't agree with this Texas law, but nor do I support how he lost his job as CEO.
I think it is important that employees should have the right to express their non-work-related political opinions on social media, and no one should lose their job for doing so.
It is justifiable to make an exception to that right for really extreme political opinions, such as praising Hitler or the KKK; but not for politely expressing mainstream political opinions, and agreeing with a recent action by the US Supreme Court is mainstream by definition.
I know some people argue it is different because he is CEO, but I don't agree. I actually think it is important that the rule applies to CEOs too. If lower level employees see the CEO speaking their mind on politics and getting away with it, that makes them feel more confident they can too. If the CEO loses their job for doing so, that makes lower level employees worry they might meet the same fate, and arguing that "the rules are different for CEOs" is unlikely to reassure them.
If you being employed loses the company money you will be fired. That's true for every employee. It's just that people are more likely to boycott a company for something the CEO says.
Would you like to ban people from deciding which companies they support or ban companies from firing people that cost them money?
I support laws protecting employees against political discrimination. I know California has such a law, and so do some Australian states (Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria).
If people are boycotting a company because one of its employees belongs to a protected class – and laws against political discrimination make political belief a protected class – then it will likely be illegal for the employer to fire that employee on account of the boycott. They may legally have no choice but to endure it. It is no different in principle from people choosing to boycott a company for employing a member of any other kind of protected class.
I think it is important that employees should have the right to express their non-work-related political opinions on social media, and no one should lose their job for doing so.
It is justifiable to make an exception to that right for really extreme political opinions, such as praising Hitler or the KKK; but not for politely expressing mainstream political opinions, and agreeing with a recent action by the US Supreme Court is mainstream by definition.
I know some people argue it is different because he is CEO, but I don't agree. I actually think it is important that the rule applies to CEOs too. If lower level employees see the CEO speaking their mind on politics and getting away with it, that makes them feel more confident they can too. If the CEO loses their job for doing so, that makes lower level employees worry they might meet the same fate, and arguing that "the rules are different for CEOs" is unlikely to reassure them.