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Q.  Recently, two employees almost came to blows arguing over the merits of a Trump versus Clinton presidency. Can our company prohibit employees from talking about politics in the workplace?

A.  The 2016 presidential election has created the most intense and divisive political environment in recent memory. What can a company do if the banter of cable news, talk radio, and polarizing political Facebook posts spills into the workplace?

Q: My company requires employees to submit to random drug tests.  Will our  drug testing policies “go up in smoke” as laws grow more lenient towards marijuana use? 

A: That is a valid question considering that Pennsylvania became the 24th state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes.  In addition, several jurisdictions have legalized marijuana for recreational use.  Importantly, however, marijuana use, distribution, and possession remains prohibited under federal law.

So what does this mean for employers?

Q.  We have several employees with tattoos on their necks and forearms. Can we require them to cover up?

A. Many employers have in place employee dress codes, in an effort to maintain a certain brand image, comply with health standards, and foster professionalism. As tattoos, body piercings and other forms of body art are trending in today’s culture, some employers have struggled with whether such displays are in keeping with the company’s image.  To what extent can an employer place rules on an employee’s appearance at work without violating anti-discrimination laws?

Q.  I have been told that Pokémon Go is a lot of fun, but it seems like my employees are spending more time trying to catch fictional monsters than getting their work done. How do I keep this craze in check?

Yours is not the only workplace to succumb to the Pokémon Go craze! In a recent poll by Forbes and Apester, 69 percent of the employees surveyed admitted to playing Pokémon Go at work. Even more disturbing, more than one-third of the employees confessed to spending more than an hour of the workday playing the game.