Much is in the news today surrounding employee activism and it has employers wondering “do our policies open the door for employees to turn our volunteer program into an act of activism?”
Employer-based volunteering to help the disadvantaged – whether it be people, animals, or the environment – has been in the fabric of our workplaces since at least the 19th Century. Organizations such as the YMCA and the Salvation Army partnered with larger employers as a means of securing funding to further their cause. Through employee payroll deductions, employees were, and continue to, be able to support their philanthropic values by directly donating money through agencies such as United Way.
