THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH - posted 6/9/05 by Tim Holliday
Brothers and sisters there has been some talk about what we can and cannot say regarding our position politically. I hope this helps. This is from the IAFF Legal.
The Constitutional Right of Free Speech
The first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution safeguards the right of public employees to speak out about matters of concern with out retaliation from public employers.
Too often fire department officials try to prevent their employees from making public statements or severely discipline the employees for making critical comments.
The key is to speak out in a way that the federal courts will consider legally protected from employer's adverse action.
To invoke constitutional safeguards the employee must be speaking as a citizen about a matter of general concern, and not as a disgruntled worker complaining about individual employment grievance. Topics likely to receive first amendment protections include public and firefighter safety; a departments budget and staffing levels; adequate stations, equipment, gear, and training; dispatching and response times; emergency medical services; department morale; alleged discrimination; and whistle blowing about corruption or misuse of funds or department property.
If the employee's reasonable statements are off duty to the media, or at a public meeting of the city council, constitutionl safeguards are more likely to apply. In contrast, if offensive remarks are targeted at the chief during a department officers' meeting, they will not be viewed as protected expression.
In sum free speech is protected by the First Amendment if it involves a public concern and is framed in the right way. It can be a very effective tool in influencing local government officials to move in a direction that is favorable to the membership.
