Earlier today, Matthew Yglesias and Thinkprogress posted a document obtained by Ohio Lawyer Allen Schulman showing that the owner of a local McDonald's in Canton had inserted a letter along with his pay slips suggesting his employees vote for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, Senate candidate Rob Portman, and House candidate Jim Renacci. The letter told his employees that the outcome of the elections would affect their livelihoods, saying that “if the right people are elected we will be able to continue with raises and benefits at or above our present levels. If others are elected we will not.” The note was written on corporate stationery, with the McDonald's logo clearly visible.
Schulman said that he had forwarded a copy of the letter to local authorities, because the letter appears to violate state law against influencing the political opinions or votes of employees.
No employer or his agent or a corporation shall print or authorize to be printed upon any pay envelopes any statements intended or calculated to influence the political action of his or its employees; or post or exhibit in the establishment or anywhere in or about the establishment any posters, placards, or hand bills containing any threat, notice, or information that if any particular candidate is elected or defeated work in the establishment will cease in whole or in part, or other threats expressed or implied, intended to influence the political opinions or votes of his or its employees.
Whoever violates this section is guilty of corrupt practices, and shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars.
In response to inquiries, Paul Siegfried, the owner of Siegfried Enterprises which owns the Canton McDonald's, released a statement confessing to an "error in judgment," and offered a hedged apology to "those that I have offended." The statement reads:
"As an independent business owner, my employees are a top priority for me. I work hard to create a positive restaurant environment for everyone. I greatly value my employees and the contributions they make to my business, each and every day.
Without a doubt it's my employees' right and his or her choice, if they decide to vote, and if so, for whom. I strive to comply with all laws, including state and federal election laws.
Distributing this communication was an error of judgment on my part. Please know, it was never my intention to offend anyone. For those that I have offended, I sincerely apologize."
Interestingly enough, the statement doesn't actually take back what was originally said -- that if Democrats were elected, Siegfried would be unable to "continue with raises and benefits at current levels."
Siegfried's problems may be bigger than Ohio, however. Gerald Hebert, a former acting chief of the Voting Section of the Justice Department now with the Campaign Legal Center, said that it's possible Siegfried's actions may violate federal law.
"Intimidating voters through physical or economic threats in connection with their registering to vote or voting in federal elections is a federal offense," Hebert says. "The questions presented by the McDonald's memo is whether he is telling employees they could lose benefits or their jobs if they don't vote for the Republican candidates and whether they felt coerced by it." Still, Hebert added, the letter could fall short of breaking federal law. "He merely says that if these candidates lose, then all their jobs will suffer. So it's different from him saying, vote this way or you'll lose your benefits or your job."
I've posted both the original documents from Schulman, and Siegfried's apology, after the jump.
