When off-duty conduct has on-the-job consequences

As we have previously written, employers are increasingly confronting difficult questions regarding how to respond, if at all, to employees’ off-duty conduct (see “Beer, baseball, and viral videos: Disciplining employees’ off-duty conduct” in our December 2025 issue). A recent opinion from the Northern District of Illinois underscores the legal risks associated with such decisions—particularly when the conduct touches on issues of race, religion, or other protected characteristics.

The speech: ‘I’m sorry the people of Gaza did not sit quietly’

Jinan Chehade is a Muslim woman of Arab descent who grew up in the “Little Palestine” neighborhood of Chicago. On October 7, 2023, days before her scheduled start date at the Chicago office of the Foley and Lardner LLP law firm, Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 civilians and taking hundreds hostage.

In response to the attack, Chehade shared public comments that, among other things, criticized Israel. On social media, she posted:

As you see Palestine in the news, keep two things in mind:

1. Colonization is inherently violent. Occupation is violent. Israel’s existence was brought about by violence. Never equate the violence of the oppressed with that of the oppressor. The colonized with the colonizer.