Employer Forcing You to Donate to Charities and Political Causes?

I was recently sent a private message from an AC reader asking about his current employer. He says that he's been forced to donate one percent of his salary to a charity that he doesn't agree with, and wondered what to do.

I did some research on this phenomenon, convinced that it couldn't be legal, and discovered a plethora of message boards discussing this very subject. Apparently, a large number of employers have tried to force their employees to donate to charities and political causes.

The Federal Election Campaign Act, which is designed to protect both campaign proponents and potential donators, says that a corporate campaign fund cannot donate to a campaign by using job discrimination or fear of reprisal. This means that a corporation cannot discriminate against employees or potential employees based on political affiliation, nor can it force a donation by threatening financial loss.

If your employer tries to force you to donate to a charity or political cause, you should know that you have rights under several federal statutes. If you don't agree with the charity or campaign, you can't be forced to spend your hard-earned money in support of it, nor can your employer try. Of course, there are substantial loopholes where this is concerned.

For example, the aforementioned AC reader spoke of a "list" of employees who refused to donate to the cause he mentioned. I assume he means a blacklist of employees who won't get raises or promotions because of their refusal, which is entirely illegal. However, such a list is not against the law, since corporations with political campaign funds and charitable funds must keep records.

In other words, if you are going to take action against an employer for trying to force you to donate, you would have to prove that coercion of some sort actually took place. Easier said than done. If the intimidation tactics or threats are made behind closed doors---and never in writing---there is little an employee can do. You don't have to donate to the charities or political causes, but you might suffer the consequences.