SAN DIEGO — Supporters of President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are campaigning hard for their candidates in these last two weeks before the election, but can showing that support in a Zoom meeting get you fired?
“We all need to be careful,” said Orly Lobel.
The Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at USD said when you're on the clock, your work gets the deciding vote on what you can and can't do politically.
“They can still demand during work hours, during our communication with coworkers, with our supervisors and official work meetings, we remove all of these political affiliations from the work context," said Lobel.
But Professor Lobel said your employer cannot fire you for your political beliefs or stop you from supporting a candidate off the clock - as long as you're not using work-related resources.
“I have a mask from my favorite candidate and certainly my employer would not be able to tell me that I cannot wear it when I'm going shopping or walking with my kids," Lobel said.
Last month at a high school in Northern California, a student displayed a Trump 2020 flag behind him during an online class. The teacher gave him 15 seconds to take it down. On a video of the incident, you can hear the teacher counting, but before she got to 10, the student waves goodbye and logs off.
Lobel said the teacher was in the right here.
“Schools can limit political campaigning and logos and virtual backgrounds that happen during class," she said.
News 8 found all kinds of politically affiliated Zoom backgrounds available for free on the internet - from mingling with the President and First Lady in a ballroom to hanging out with five democratic women who ran for president. You can also put yourself in the middle of the last debate - or just declare yourself the winner and head straight for the Oval Office.
But if you've had enough of all this political stuff, you can also just take a vacation to a deserted tropical island - even if it is just virtual.