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2d Circuit Court of Appeals holds employment-related grievances may relate to matters of public concern

2d Circuit Court of Appeals holds employment-related grievances may relate to matters of public concern
Source: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/
Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2009, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved.

Sousa v Roque, Jr., ___F.3d___(2d Cir. August 21, 2009), is an important decision to be aware of. The curt held that ?The speaker?s motive is not dispositive in determining whether speech is on a matter of public concern.? The court reversed summary judgment to the Connecticut environmental protection agency on a former employee?s First Amendment retaliation claim.

The lower court erred in its reasoning that the employee?s speech, related primarily to complaints about workplace violence, did not address a matter of public concern solely because he was motivated by employment grievances.

This holding does not negate the fact that speech on a purely private matter?to redress personal work-related grievances?is speaking only on matters of personal interest and does not address a matter of public concern. ?We make clear today, however, that it does not follow that a person motivated by a personal grievance cannot be speaking on a matter of public concern.?

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on September 03, 2009 (boomark / email).