Plaintiff, a former public school counselor, filed a lawsuit alleging that she was unlawfully fired in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right to speech after the school district concluded that a profanity-laden speech denouncing transgender individuals plaintiff gave at a rally violated several employment policies, including rules against abusive and intimidating language and bullying. The district court concluded that the school district’s interests as a public employer outweighed plaintiff’s free speech rights and dismissed the claim. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, finding that while plaintiff spoke in a traditional free-speech setting, the school district reasonably concluded that her speech was incompatible with her role as a school counselor. (RIPPLE and ROVNER, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
First Amendment