By Kate Acheson

Officer Von Rhine, an employee of Camden, NJ County Sheriff’s Department, claimed his Department violated his First Amendment rights to Free Speech by transferring him in retaliation, for complaints he made against his boss.  The Federal Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed this claim in Von Rhine v. Camden County Sherriff’s Office.

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By Kate Acheson

Public employees are protected in the exercise of their First Amendment rights. This allows them to bring lawsuits when an employer’s retaliatiatory action is significant enough to constitute an “adverse employment action.”  Not every employer action rises to that level. 

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By Kate Acheson

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals holds that internal grievances do not constitute statements of “public concern,” which are entitled to First Amendment protection. In Brooks v. Arthur, two Virginia corrections officers sued the Virginia State Corrections Department supervisors under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for unlawful termination in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech. 

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By Mitchell Riese

A recent decision from U.S. l District Court in Arizona denied the City of Prescott, Arizona’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit by a former firefighter, who alleged that he had been coerced into retiring by being threatened with criminal charges for having traded shifts. In  Vicente v. City of Prescott, AZ, 33 IER Cases 1306 (D. Ariz. 2012), Vicente, who had been a firefighter for almost 20 years and a Captain for 10, was vice president of the firefighters union. In that role, he advocated on behalf of two union members who claimed that they were being harassed by certain managers. Not long after Vicente assisted the members in filing formal complaints, he was called into a meeting and told that he had engaged in criminal conduct by trading shifts or obtaining substitutes for shifts with other firefighters. He was told that the situation was serious and that his job could not be saved. Vicente was told that his only option was to retire. Vicente claimed that he was told that he had to cease all union activity because that was the reason why they were all there.

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By Cynthia McNabb

In the ever-evolving legal environment regarding use of social media in and outside the workplace, a new case before the 4th Circuit is getting quite a bit of attention.  In Bland v. Roberts, a deputy sheriff (along with five others) went on his Facebook page and, like millions of others every day, clicked the “like” button on a page he was viewing.  The page happened to be a political page for a candidate running against his boss, the Sheriff of Hampton, VA.  Once his boss was re-elected, Deputy Carter, along with Bland, et. all were terminated.  The employer alleged that the employees were terminated for poor work performance and their support of the opposing candidate had disrupted the workplace. [Read more...]