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Free Speech › Hiring & Firing › Public Employees

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

Court Rules That Inflammatory Social Media Posts by a Public Employee Are Not Protected by the First Amendment

Tucker Arensberg, P.C. on

Vallecorsa v. Allegheny Cty., No. 2:19-CV-1495-NR, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206720, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 15, 2022). United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania holds that Allegheny County (“County”) did...more

Fisher Phillips

Off-Duty Facebook Post Grounds For Termination Of Public Employee, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules

Fisher Phillips on

(Public) employers rejoice! In a unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just ruled that PennDOT did not violate an ex-employee’s free speech rights by firing her over a Facebook rant in which the ex-employee said...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

City Can’t Restrain Employee’s Critical Comments - Ninth Circuit Holds It Is OK to Speak on Matters of Public Concern as a Private...

Best Best & Krieger LLP on

A city employee’s comments at a public event were not protected under the First Amendment because she spoke as a public employee, not a private citizen, a federal appeals court held in Barone v. City of Springfield. However,...more

Fisher Phillips

Can A University Terminate For Tenured Teacher’s Twitter Tweaks?

Fisher Phillips on

A series of Twitter posts from a tenured Fresno State English professor about former First Lady Barbara Bush has once again sparked a national conversation about how the First Amendment applies in the university setting, and...more

Nossaman LLP

Did You Know…SCOTUS Ruling on Personnel Decision based upon Perceived Political Affiliation Impacts Public Employers

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The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled on a matter involving “perceived affiliation”, bringing clarity to the matter, where the circuits provided discordant rulings. As a result, personnel actions based upon even mistaken...more

McAfee & Taft

2016 presidential election dynamics in the workplace: Free speech? ‘You’re fired’

McAfee & Taft on

None of us are immune from this year’s presidential election dynamics. Disrespect and name-calling seem more prevalent than policy discussions. The election is highly polarizing, potentially pitting employee against employee....more

Littler

Ninth Circuit Holds Section 1983 First Amendment Retaliation Claim Not Necessarily Precluded By Age Discrimination in Employment...

Littler on

On August 5, 2016, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) does not preclude a First Amendment retaliation claim under section 1983 of the federal Civil Rights...more

BakerHostetler

Supreme Court Extends Public Sector Employees' First Amendment Rights

BakerHostetler on

A public sector employee may now have a First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim even where the public sector employee has not engaged in protected First Amendment political activity. This may be the case if a public...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Misread Signs: U.S. Supreme Court Finds Employer’s Mistaken Belief about Employee Supports Retaliation Claim

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on

Is it still retaliation if your boss fired you for something you didn’t actually do? In Heffernan v. City of Paterson, New Jersey, the U.S. Supreme Court said yes—your boss’s mistake does not get him off the hook for the...more

Best Best & Krieger LLP

Demotion Based on Mistaken Belief Deprives Public Employee of Constitutional Rights

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U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Case Involving Political Campaigning Accusations - A government agency violated the constitutional rights of an employee who was demoted based on the mistaken belief that he violated the...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

But I Didn’t Mean To! U.S. Supreme Court Says Employer Intentions Govern in First Amendment Retaliation Case

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on

For government employers, disciplining and terminating employees can be especially difficult. Not only does the public employer face the same challenges in complying with the standard alphabet soup of employment laws that...more

Littler

What's in a "Like"? Precedent-Setting Case Poses New Risk for Employers

Littler on

The ubiquitous thumbs-up icon in Facebook has gained new prominence for private employers. In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that an employee fired for "liking" the campaign...more

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