This section bars certified or equivalent employees, the commissioner, and other persons from using political power or workplace influence for political purposes, and limits political activity by certified or equivalent employees.
156.838 Prohibited activities. (1) No certified or equivalent employee shall be appointed or promoted to, or demoted or dismissed from, any position or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to employment because of political or religious opinions or affiliations, ethnic origin, sex, disability, or age. (2) No person shall use or promise to use, directly or indirectly, any official authority to influence, whether possessed or anticipated, to secure or attempt to secure for any person an appointment or advantage in appointment to a position requiring certification or equivalent, or an increase in pay or other advantage in employment in any such position, for the purpose of influencing the vote or political action of a person. (3) No certified or equivalent employee nor the commissioner shall directly or indirectly, pay or promise to pay any assessment for political purposes, or solicit or take any part in soliciting for any political party, or solicit or take any part in soliciting any political assessment, subscription, contribution, or service. No person shall solicit any political assessment, subscription, contribution, or service of any certified or equivalent employee. (4) No certified or equivalent employee shall be a member of any national, state, or local committee of a political party, or an officer or member of a committee of a partisan political club, or a candidate for nomination or election to any paid public office, or shall take part in the management or affairs of any political party or in any political campaign, except to exercise the right as a citizen privately to express an opinion and to cast a vote. Certified or equivalent employees may be candidates for and occupy a town or school district office if the office is one for which no compensation, other than a per diem payment, is provided and the election is on a nonpartisan basis. Effective: June 25, 2013 History: Repealed, reenacted, and renumbered 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 59, sec. 22, effective June 25, 2013. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 405, sec. 19, effective July 15, 1994; and ch. 469, sec. 18, effective July 15, 1994. -- Created 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 470, sec. 16, effective July 1, 1990. Formerly codified as KRS 151B.090.