Purged by Press Release: First Responders, Free Speech, and Public Employment Retaliation in the Digital Age
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Date
2019-06-19
Authors
Scoville, George S. , III
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon School of Law
Abstract
Racial tensions are rising in the United States, with no signs of abating anytime soon. The tragic number of African American deaths resulting from euphemistically titled “officer-involved shootings” has dramatically increased in the last decade, which has spurred heated, sometimes violent, protests. In addition, police departments nationwide are grappling with increased threats to officers’ safety. Social media platforms add fuel to the fire because they enable nearly instantaneous, bidirectional transmission of both accurate and inaccurate information around the globe. Accordingly, many municipalities have implemented restrictive social media policies for both the public and government employees. Firing a government employee for violating such a social media policy in his or her use of digital communications tools, however, especially when the employee does so on his or her own time, raises stark questions regarding whether and to what extent the policy violates the First Amendment.
Description
78 pages
Keywords
Race relations, Social media, Police, Professional conduct, Free speech, Constitutional law
Citation
97 OR. L. REV. 477