Employer’s interests outweigh free speech rights of employee fired for using racial slur

Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be fired or disciplined for engaging in “constitutionally protected” speech. That is, the speech must be on a “matter of public concern,” the employee must be acting in her capacity as a private citizen rather than in her official duties as a government worker, and the talk or comments must outweigh the employer’s interest in “promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs.” That delicate balance was tested in a recent case involving a Nashville government worker who was fired after using the “n” word in a social media post.

Facts

Danyelle Bennett, a white female and an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, worked as a dispatch operator for Metro Nashville’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC), which is in charge of the 911 service. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Bennett wore a Trump sweatshirt and a “Make America Great Again” hat to work on “Superhero Day.” Some coworkers complained, prompting the ECC to ask her to change.

Bennett periodically posted about political matters on her personal Facebook page. In her profile, she identified herself as not only a Metro employee but also an ECC employee.