7 results for 'cat:"Constitution" AND cat:"Employment" AND cat:"Employment Retaliation"'.
J. Van Tatenhove dismisses a police officer's federal claims contending his right to freely associate and travel had been violated when the department continued to circulate press releases stating he had attended the deadly January 6 rally that sought to overthrow the election for Donald Trump by attacking the capital, even though he claims he had only been in D.C. at that time to enjoy a site-seeing trip with his family. The officer's right to travel had not been infringed since he had not been punished for going to D.C. with his family, and his right to associate with his wife had not become the issue when she posted pictures of herself near the rally; instead, he had been investigated and transferred based on his own presence in the country's capital, and nothing in the claim contends he had been transferred due to his marital relationship. Due process claims concerning loss of protected property fail because the officer "merely alleges that he was transferred from a supervisory position to a position without supervisory responsibilities—not that he was removed, suspended, or reduced in grade or pay." The decision did not deprive him of a property interest, and he was not entitled to a hearing.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Kentucky, Judge: Van Tatenhove, Filed On: March 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv11, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, employment, employment Retaliation
J. Seeger partially grants Cook County’s motion to dismiss constitutional and state law violations claims brought by a former photographer for the county medical examiner’s office. The ex-photographer claims he was fired in retaliation for complaining about his working conditions and how the office spent its budget; he says the office used his positive drug test result for cannabis as pretext to fire him. He brought First and Fourth Amendment violations claims as well as a number of state law claims. The court allows the Fourth Amendment claim to stand, and the First Amendment claim stands only regarding his formal complaint to OSHA about his working conditions. His retaliation claim under state law also survives dismissal, but the court tosses his state wage law violation claim and his claim for due process violations.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Seeger, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv5571, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, employment, employment Retaliation
J. Torbitzky finds that the commission improperly affirmed the police department's decision to fire the police officer. The department improperly forced the officer to choose between his employment and his Fifth Amendment rights by retaliating against him for refusing to answer questions about another officer's alleged sexual encounter with a 12-year-old girl in a patrol car. The officer was given immunity for statements made to the department's internal investigator, but understood that there was no such immunity for statements made to the criminal investigator. Reversed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Torbitzky, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: ED111086, Categories: Civil Rights, constitution, employment Retaliation
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Jackson-Akiwumi affirms a district court ruling dismissing a former police officer’s First Amendment suit against the police chief of a Wisconsin police department for allegedly retaliating against him for critiquing the chief’s leadership. The ex-cop’s remarks were made in his capacity as a public employee, not a private citizen. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 22-1467 , Categories: Civil Rights, constitution, employment Retaliation
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to the Jackson Parish sheriff on a Black female sergeant’s claim that he fired her in retaliation for a race-based discrimination complaint she filed against the sheriff. He argued he fired the woman for excessive force against an inmate, a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for termination. But the sergeant presented evidence to support her claim that this reason is pretextual: Considering the timing of her firing, the contradiction in the reason for her termination and the possibility that the jail applied its use-of-force policy against the complaining Black sergeant but not against other similarly situated employees, there are enough factual issues to defeat summary judgment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv832, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: constitution, Evidence, employment Retaliation