7 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Employment" AND cat:"First Amendment"'.
J. Mannion grants summary judgment to a township and two of its town supervisors, who were sued by the police chief and two officers over a dispute considering traffic enforcement. The police said one supervisor, who rebuked them for not ticketing more tractor-trailers on the highway, overstepped his authority and attempted to order them around in retaliation for exercising their First Amendment rights to the irate supervisor. The police failed to show actionable retaliatory conduct, as the town board member’s comments amounted to immature criticism and mere rudeness, and he had no authority to compel the officers to act.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Mannion, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 3:19-2115, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation, first Amendment
J. Gutierrez finds in favor of the city against the former fire chief's complaint that the city violated his First Amendment rights by firing him for statements he made on a podcast about civil unrest, which coincided with a time of public outcry against the police following George Floyd's death three weeks prior. The former fire chief's statements reflected on the city and the fire department because he never indicated during the podcast or afterward that he spoke in his individual capacity, as he represented himself as "Fire Chief Daryn Drum."
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Gutierrez, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv8492, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment, first Amendment
J. Johnson grants the dismissal motions filed by the city and the police chief in this lawsuit brought by a former police officer who was allegedly terminated for certain social media posts that violated department rules. The posts at issue were made prior to his employment with the police department, and he contends in this suit that his First Amendment rights were violated by his termination. However, the city's interest "in maintaining a police force that instills public confidence" outweighs the former police officer's interest "in his protected speech."
Court: USDC Northern District of Oklahoma , Judge: Johnson, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 4:19cv538, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Bell grants a local Catholic diocese's motion to dismiss allegations of Hate Crime Act violations brought by an applicant to a lector position, which involves reading scriptures to the public. The applicant claims the diocese discriminated against him based on his diagnoses of bipolar disorder and the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed from fighting in the Vietnam War. However, because this is a criminal complaint, it cannot be settled in civil court, nor would the court be able to intervene in the decisions of the diocese based on the First Amendment.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Bell, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv365, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Discrimination, first Amendment
J. Bolden denies, in part, the city and its police chief's motions for summary judgment, ruling the fired officers' attendance at a rally in support of their efforts to reopen the station during the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes First Amendment protected activity and is sufficient to state a plausible retaliation claim, given the proximity between the rally and their terminations. Furthermore, their defamation claims will proceed. Although the termination letters of the officers were public records and, therefore, could be disclosed to the media, the statements made by the chief during press conferences - specifically, that they were fired for "not doing their jobs" and for misconduct - are statements of fact that could be proved objectively false by the officers.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv787, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, employment Retaliation, first Amendment
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