Minnesota Workplace – What are the Limits of “Freedom of Speech”

We live in America.  We have several constitutional rights, and one of them is the first amendment which is the Freedom of Speech amendment.  But, how far does that stretch?  You might want to say "wherever I want it to, I can say what I want.  It's my first amendment right."

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NOT EXACTLY

After the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week, there were stories about how some people around the country that were either suspended or fired after what they said about the shooting either in person or online.  Some of those situations were here in Minnesota.

EMPLOYEES ARGUING THEIR "RIGHTS"

That prompted people to state that this was uncalled for because of the first amendment.  This is why I did some research to find out what's up with that...can they get fired for saying some things that were pro-shooter in this situation?The short answer is yes, they can be fired.  Here's why, and also what jobs can an employer NOT retaliate in that way?  It actually depends on the employer.

PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES

In short - you have no rights in this case.

The First Amendment does not extend to private employers; they are generally free to discipline or fire employees for their speech. 

 

PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES

There is a bit of a difference for public/government employees

Courts use the Pickering Balancing Test to weigh a public employee's First Amendment rights against the government employer's interest in efficient operations

Obviously employers need to discuss expectations with their employees and lay out what is and what is not allowed.  Probably a great idea to make sure such verbaige is clearly laid out in an employee handbook so that no one can state that they "didn't know".  Like claiming ignorance - not an excuse at that point.