public-employee

38 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-927 Richard Lowery v. Lillian Mills, Dean of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, et al. Fifth Circuit 2026-02-05 Pending civil-rights employer-threats first-amendment public-employee reasonable-employee retaliation University of Texas officials threatened Professor Richard Lowery with reduced pay, loss of a research post, and other consequences, if he did not sto…
25-819 Jeanne Hedgepeth v. James A. Britton, et al. Seventh Circuit 2026-01-12 Pending Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse Waived first-amendment free-speech pickering-balancing-test political-speech public-employee viewpoint-discrimination Whether and in what circumstances public employers may discipline employees based on their expression of controversial views while off the job.
25A562 Jeanne Hedgepeth v. James A. Britton, et al. Seventh Circuit 2025-11-14 Application first-amendment free-speech pickering-test political-speech public-employee viewpoint-discrimination Whether a public employer violates the First Amendment by terminating an employee for expressing political views on social media while off-duty
25A362 Kate Adams v. Sacramento County, California, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-09-29 Presumed Complete employment-retaliation first-amendment matter-of-public-concern ninth-circuit public-employee racist-speech Whether speech condemning racist memes constitutes a matter of public concern under the First Amendment's protections for public employee speech
24-1274 R. Michael Cestaro v. Clarissa M. Rodriguez, Individually and in Her Official Capacity as Chair of the New York State Workers' Compensation Board, et al. Second Circuit 2025-06-13 Denied Response Waived first-amendment mt-healthy public-employee retaliation section-1983 subjective-intent Whether a public employee's First Amendment retaliation claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 requires proof of subjective intent and distinct 'other conduct' …
24A568 Thomas Ostly v. City and County of San Francisco, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-12-11 Presumed Complete due-process employment-discrimination first-amendment public-employee retaliation summary-judgment Whether a public employee can establish a First Amendment retaliation claim when alleging termination based on protected speech without presenting dir…
24A417 James A. Daly v. City of DeSoto, Missouri, et al. Eighth Circuit 2024-10-30 Presumed Complete employment-termination first-amendment free-speech-rights public-employee speech-retaliation temporal-proximity Whether a public employer can terminate a public employee's employment based on First Amendment-protected speech that occurred more than a year prior …
24-122 Michael Craine v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 36, Local 119, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-08-02 Denied Response Waived constitutional-rights first-amendment free-association free-speech municipal-liability public-employee state-action union-dues union-membership Whether the First Amendment protects a public employee's right to resign union membership and stop government-deducted union dues
24-5121 Rebecca Wu v. Twin Rivers Unified School District California 2024-07-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 14th-amendment classification due-process equal-protection misclassification motion-for-new-trial new-evidence probationary-status public-employee Due-process
23-1215 Christopher Deering v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-05-14 Denied Response Waived color-of-law compelled-speech dues dues-payments first-amendment free-speech political-speech public-employee union union-membership Whether the First Amendment protects a public employee's right to disassociate from a union
23-1214 Tanishia Hubbard v. Service Employees International Union Local 2015, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-05-14 Denied Amici (1)Response Waived civil-rights compelled-speech due-process first-amendment free-speech government-deduction janus-v-afscme labor-union labor-unions public-employee state-action union-dues Does the First Amendment protect a nonmember public employee against government deduction of union dues when the employee's union forged her membershi…
23-1113 Atishma Kant, et al. v. Service Employees International Union, Local 721, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-04-12 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) affirmative-consent collective-bargaining compelled-speech first-amendment labor-union labor-unions public-employee public-sector waiver-of-rights Can a public sector labor union and government employer unilaterally waive public employees' First Amendment rights through a collective bargaining ag…
23-6243 Offie Curtis Brown, Jr. v. North Carolina Department of Public Safety, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-12-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review civil-rights constitutional-provisions first-amendment free-speech jurisdictional-issue legal-standard procedural-question public-concern public-employee retaliation statutory-provisions Whether the First Amendment protects the right of a public employee to speak on matters of public concern without fear of retaliation
23-441 Patrick Fehlman v. James Mankowski Seventh Circuit 2023-10-26 Denied civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process employment-law first-amendment free-speech government-retaliation public-employee public-employment retaliation Is the government free to continue to retaliate against a former public employee for speech made during the employee's employment?
23-388 Richard W. Como v. Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement Board Pennsylvania 2023-10-12 Denied Response Waived civil-rights criminal-conviction due-process excessive-fines excessive-punishment fourteenth-amendment pension pension-forfeiture public-employee retirement-law Did the Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court err in forfeiting Mr. Como's entire pension due to criminal convictions as Superintenden…
23-5367 Rebecca Wu v. Twin Rivers Unified School District California 2023-08-16 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 14th-amendment california-law civil-rights collective-bargaining due-process employment-status misclassification public-employee tenure tenure-classification Does the United States Constitution allow for an Indefinite probationary classification in California law of a public employee or Teacher
22-1174 Michael Erwine v. Churchill County, Nevada, et al. Ninth Circuit 2023-06-05 Denied Response Waived due-process employment employment-discrimination ninth-circuit procedural-due-process public-employee public-employee-rights stare-decisis stigma-plus To state a viable 'stigma-plus' claim, must a plaintiff prove as a matter of fact 'effective exclusion' from a chosen profession?
22-130 Lonnie Tofsrud v. City of Spokane, Washington, et al. Ninth Circuit 2022-08-10 Denied Response Waived chain-of-command civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech officer-misconduct pickering-garcetti-framework public-employee public-employee-speech supervisor-retaliation whistleblower whistleblower-protection Does a city police detective's complaint to a county attorney about officer misconduct meet the test for private speech?
21-1007 Robert A. Hawkland v. Burke Hall, et al. Fifth Circuit 2022-01-18 Denied Response Waived first-amendment free-speech governmental-agency internal-investigation official-duties public-employee retaliation speech-protection Whether statements made by a public employee during an internal investigation by a governmental agency regarding matters of public concern are within …
20-1751 Susan Fischer, et al. v. Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey, et al. Third Circuit 2021-06-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) civil-rights constitutional-rights employee-rights first-amendment government-action public-employee standing union-dues union-speech waiver waiver-doctrine Whether governments and unions need clear and compelling evidence of a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of First Amendment rights to seize p…
20-1632 Patrick H. Stockdale, et al. v. Kim R. Helper Sixth Circuit 2021-05-24 Denied absolute-immunity clearly-established constitutional-rights first-amendment petition-clause public-employee qualified-immunity retaliation Whether the decisional law regarding retaliation under the Petition Clause of the First Amendment was clearly established to place a public official o…
20-1623 David Paul Bohler v. City of Fairview, Tennessee Sixth Circuit 2021-05-21 Denied Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech garcetti-rule public-employee retaliation whistleblower whistleblower-protection Whether a police officer has a First Amendment right to speak to a prosecutor about corruption in their department
20-1574 Joseph Ocol v. Chicago Teachers Union, et al. Seventh Circuit 2021-05-13 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) compelled-speech constitutional-rights exclusive-bargaining exclusive-bargaining-representative first-amendment freedom-of-association janus-precedent janus-v-afscme public-employee public-sector-unions union-representation Should the Court overrule Knight and hold that the First Amendment prohibits States from forcing dissident public employees to accept a hostile union …
20-1078 Danyelle Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee Sixth Circuit 2021-02-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) constitutional-protection first-amendment free-speech hecklers-veto pickering-balancing-test political-speech public-employee rankin-v-mcpherson Whether a public employee's political debate on an issue of national importance may be silenced based solely on the speaker's use of an offensive word
20-358 Randy Henry v. J. Bret Johnson, et al. Eighth Circuit 2020-09-17 Denied Response Waived circuit-split civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech government-employer government-employment public-concern public-employee retaliation When may a government employee be punished for speaking on a matter of public concern?
20-351 Norris Paul Carey, Jr. v. Joanne Throwe, et al. Fourth Circuit 2020-09-16 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) concealed-carry concealed-weapon first-amendment law-enforcement-officer-safety-act law-enforcement-safety-act public-employee public-employee-speech qualified-retired-law-enforcement-officer section-1983 social-media-posts Does a qualified retired law enforcement officer have an enforceable right under LEOSA?
19-1217 Scottie A. Bagi, et al. v. City of Parma, Ohio Sixth Circuit 2020-04-15 Denied 42-usc-1988 attorney-fees christiansburg-garment civil-rights discretionary-standard due-process first-amendment free-speech public-employee retaliation retaliation-claim summary-judgment Whether the District Court abused its discretion in its application of the standards set forth in Christiansburg Garment Co. v. EEOC, 434 U.S. 412 (19…
19-893 Shimon Waronker v. Hempstead Union Free School District, et al. Second Circuit 2020-01-17 Denied civil-rights corruption due-process employment-retaliation first-amendment free-speech government-corruption public-employee public-official speech-protection whistleblower Whether the First Amendment protects the speech by a public official that is required by law and that reports and exposes corruption
19-771 Gerald Sensabaugh v. Kimberly Halliburton, et al. Sixth Circuit 2019-12-16 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure civil-rights common-law due-process first-amendment free-speech personnel-file protected-speech public-employee qualified-immunity retaliation standing takings Whether the Court should reconsider its qualified-immunity jurisprudence to accord with the official's burden of establishing immunity entitlement at …
19-726 Mallory Jones, et al. v. Ramone Lamkin, Individually and in His Official Capacity as Marshal of the Civil and Magistrate Court of Richmond County, Georgia, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2019-12-09 Denied Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) branti-finkel branti-v-finkel civil-rights confidential-employee due-process elrod-burns elrod-v-burns employment employment-law first-amendment free-speech government-policy policy-maker policymaker public-employee public-employees public-sector Whether the exception to First Amendment protections for public employees applies based on the actual work performed or the written job description
19-653 Theresa Ortloff v. Dave Trimmer, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-11-20 Denied Response Waived connick-v-myers due-process first-amendment first-amendment-speech-public-interest-connick-v-m free-speech procedural-due-process public-employee public-employee-speech public-interest speech whistleblower-protection Must the entire record, including motives, main thrust of the speech, and all instances of speech be reviewed under Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 1388 (1…
19-379 Alfred Lam, et al. v. City and County of San Francisco, California, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-09-20 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure civil-rights due-process exceptional-importance federal-rules-of-civil-procedure fraud-on-the-court fraud-upon-court judicial-misconduct ninth-circuit perjury public-employee rule-60 standing Whether the Ninth Circuit's decision imposes an erroneous and unjustifiable standard for 'Fraud Upon The Court'
19-342 Mark F. McCaffrey v. Michael L. Chapman, et al. Fourth Circuit 2019-09-16 Denied Amici (2)Response Waived civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech free-speech-balancing law-enforcement law-enforcement-discretion partisan-politics patronage-termination pickering-connick political-retaliation public-employee public-employee-speech public-employment Does the investigation of violent crimes and other essential law enforcement tasks that require professional judgment and discretion so involve partis…
19-285 Jerud Butler v. Board of County Commissioners for San Miguel County, et al. Tenth Circuit 2019-09-03 Denied Amici (5) such that it is entitled to protection under the civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech government-speech judicial-proceeding judicial-system judicial-testimony public-concern public-employee speech-protection Whether a government employee's truthful testimony at a judicial hearing qualifies as speech on a matter of public concern, such that it is entitled t…
19-51 Ben Branch, et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations, et al. Massachusetts 2019-07-08 Denied Amici (2)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) bargaining-representative civil-rights compelled-speech constitutional-rights due-process exclusive-representation first-amendment free-speech political-activity political-autonomy public-employee state-action union-representation Whether a public employee union's use of its government-granted authority as exclusive bargaining representative to compel employees to choose between…
18-955 Alberto Fernandez v. School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida Eleventh Circuit 2019-01-23 Denied Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech garcetti-standard garcetti-v-ceballos public-employee restatement-of-agency scope-of-employment Whether scope of employment is a threshold question for public employee free speech under the First Amendment
18-830 Township of Millburn, New Jersey, et al. v. Michael J. Palardy, Jr. Third Circuit 2019-01-03 Denied Amici (1)Relisted (4) circuit-conflict circuit-split civil-rights connick-v-myers constitutional-rights first-amendment public-employee retaliation retaliation-claim union-association Whether the Connick framework applies to public employee retaliation claims based on union association
18-6160 Kevin R. Carmody v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, et al. Seventh Circuit 2018-10-01 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (3)IFP bias civil-procedure cross-examination due-process employment hearing-officer involuntary-termination post-termination-proceedings privileged-document procedural-fairness public-employee public-employment standing termination Did the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit err in finding Plaintiff bowed out of the post-termination proceedings?