The National Federation of Independent Businesses is the same group (the plaintiff in the lawsuit heard by SCOTUS) that took their campaign to strike down Obamacare to the Supreme Court. As Ashby noted, “it’s highly unlikely Romney was speaking to anyone who agrees with President Obama [in this group]”. 
During a conference call with the NFIB, Mitt Romney suggested to these employers that they should tell their employees how to vote:
“I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope you pass those along to your employees. Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business. Because I think that will figure in to their election decision. Their voting decision. ”
Huffington Post notes that the NFIB employers will not be the only businesses “encouraging” their employees to vote Republican:
Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel gained national attention when he emailed his employees to argue that Obama's policies would "threaten" their jobs.
"If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company," Siegel wrote, urging his workers to instead vote for Romney.
Arthur Allen, CEO of ASG Software Solutions, made a similar plea in a pro-Romney email leaked last week.
"If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come." Allen wrote.
And Think Progress has a report on the Koch brothers attempt to influence the vote in this election cycle by sending a letter to 45,000 employees, warning them of “consequences” for the workers if Romney loses:
The Koch brothers’ $60 million pledge to defeat President Obama — along with their political network’s $400 million spending — make them two of the most influential conservatives this election.
Not content with their unprecedented influence in politics, the Kochs have also taken to influencing the votes of their employees. According to In These Times, Koch Industries sent 45,000 mailers to employees at Koch subsidiary Georgia Pacific, urging votes for Romney and other conservative candidates. The letter warns ominously of “consequences” for the workers if Republicans lose.
The Koch mailer is one of several recent examples of executives warning that employees may lose their jobs if Republicans do not win in November.
Yes, sadly, this is legal. The only thing we can do is vote these thugs down, and let people know just what they’re doing in order to win elections.
