Public servants can still be fired for what they say. The same rules of employment generally apply to public servants as to private citizens in the United States. The difference is between civil law and criminal law. The Constitution does not provide you protection under civil law. You can be fired or sued for what you say. That is the basis of libel and slander laws and a slanderer can’t claim first amendment protection as a defense. Even there, the U.S. has fairly strong protections and the plaintiff must clear a high bar to win in a libel or slander case. Civil law can only impose a financial penalty and civil courts can’t send somebody to prison. The Constitution does not provide protection from financial penalties, but it does limit how U.S. citizens can be deprived of their liberties through criminal punishment. (Many people who have tried to use Constitutional protection claims to defend their failure to pay taxes have found out that tax law falls under the financial penalty category and not the deprivation of liberty area.)
If a civil servant went on a misogynistic rant daily, it could be a problem for their employment. Even if they were only doing so on their private Facebook page, the women working at the same government agency could make a reasonable claim that working with this person constituted a hostile work environment. The employee making the misogynistic comments would not be protected by the Constitution. Workers are free to seek new employment at an employer that they feel better meets their requirements as a worker. This doesn’t always happen, and many Americans are risk adverse to the point where they will put up with working at a bad employer without looking for better options. Other Americans have taken advantage of collective bargaining laws to get contractual protections beyond what the law allows. In recent years, Americans have soured on unions, but that is a choice they make. There are some protections all employees have. You can’t reveal confidential information, trade secrets or similar items and claim “freedom of speech” without risk of losing your job. However, political activities are generally protected. Your employer can’t fire you for supporting a different political candidate than your boss. It may be up to the employee to prove the real reason for their termination in a civil suit, but such cases have ended in the plaintiff’s favor. Ted Eckert The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. I am not a professional constitutional scholar, although I will admit to subscribing and listening to a number of podcasts on constitutional and civil law. My coworkers wonder why I can’t be normal and just watch Game of Thrones instead like everybody else. From: John Woodgate [mailto:jmw1...@btinternet.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2016 11:42 PM To: Ted Eckert <ted.eck...@microsoft.com>; EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG Subject: RE: [PSES] Public view of this email server? So public servants can say what they like, but honest citizens can't. Room for improvement. With best wishes DESIGN IT IN! OOO – Own Opinions Only www.jmwa.demon.co.uk<http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk/> J M Woodgate and Associates Rayleigh England Sylvae in aeternum manent. From: Ted Eckert [mailto:000007cf6ebeab9d-dmarc-requ...@ieee.org] Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 4:49 AM To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG<mailto:EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG> Subject: Re: [PSES] Public view of this email server? In the United States, the First Amendment prevents governments from regulating speech. However, employment at a specified company is not a constitutionally protected right. A private company is permitted to fire you for something you say. Many people learn in the United States have learned this the hard way. Employment law is normally governed at the state level. In many states, your employer can fire you without giving any reason at all. If they don’t like what you said, they don’t have to state that as a reason for termination. Employers in the U.S. can’t fire you based on race, gender and a few other aspects, but speech is generally allowed to be restricted as a condition of employment. Ted Eckert The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. From: John Woodgate [mailto:jmw1...@btinternet.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2016 8:03 PM To: Ted Eckert <ted.eck...@microsoft.com<mailto:ted.eck...@microsoft.com>>; EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG<mailto:EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG> Subject: RE: [PSES] Public view of this email server? An employer seeking to restrict personal communication on the Internet may violate the First Amendment.. To replace the sesquipedalian disclaimers imposed by corporate lawyers, I coined the TLA OOO which has appeared in my sig-tag since time immemorial. With best wishes DESIGN IT IN! OOO – Own Opinions Only www.jmwa.demon.co.uk<http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk/> J M Woodgate and Associates Rayleigh England Sylvae in aeternum manent. From: Ted Eckert [mailto:000007cf6ebeab9d-dmarc-requ...@ieee.org] Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 3:06 AM To: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG<mailto:EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG> Subject: Re: [PSES] Public view of this email server? I work in an environment where it is reasonable for me to assume that anything I write may be accessed by a plaintiff during the discovery process of some future lawsuit. It makes me more careful what I say, but it generally doesn’t prevent me from responding to a forum such as this. The disclaimer I use is based on guidance given by my current employer and is similar to what has been required at past employment when responding publically. I can say what I want as long as I indicate that it is a personal response and not necessarily the opinion of my employer. Despite the environment, my employer does not prohibit open communication on public forums. The employees are encouraged to speak responsibly and recognize that they may be seen as representatives of Microsoft. - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org<mailto:emc-p...@ieee.org>> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe)<http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html> List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <sdoug...@ieee.org<mailto:sdoug...@ieee.org>> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org<mailto:mcantw...@ieee.org>> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <j.bac...@ieee.org<mailto:j.bac...@ieee.org>> David Heald <dhe...@gmail.com<mailto:dhe...@gmail.com>> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <sdoug...@ieee.org> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <j.bac...@ieee.org> David Heald: <dhe...@gmail.com>
