(NewsNation) — Stories of people losing their jobs or facing discipline for their comments about the death of Charlie Kirk have raised questions about freedom of speech and employment.
MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd and Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah both lost their jobs over comments following Kirk’s death.
Teachers, firefighters and other employees not in the public spotlight have also been fired or suspended.
In Springfield, Illinois, a now former television anchor, Beni Rae Harmony, said she was suspended by her station after she aired a “nonpartisan tribute to Charlie Kirk” on Friday after the 31-year-old was fatally shot at Utah Valley University.
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Harmony said she chose to resign from WICS-ABC20 Springfield on her social media post and stated, “Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination. I believe I am the first to be targeted for honoring him on air.”
What are your First Amendment rights when it comes to your job?
When it comes to people working in the private sector, there isn’t much protection for their freedom of speech when it comes to their employment, Paige Sparks, a legal attorney, told NewsNation.
Sparks notes it was her opinion of First Amendment protections and not legal advice. “Employers often have policies and standards related to public conduct, especially in high-visibility roles like broadcast journalism,” Sparks said.
Sparks said if an employer believes something an employee says — either online, on air or in public — conflicts with the company’s brand or guidelines, they are within their rights to fire the worker.
“Employers have to navigate that on a case-by-case basis to make sure they do not violate the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act), and it really depends on the exact language an employee uses to see if it is actionable or not,” Sparks said.
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For those working for the government in the public sector, there is a little more wiggle room, but many agencies have policies about employee social media use.
Social media policies after Charlie Kirk’s death
Many companies have instituted policies around social media use specifically designed to inform employees of what is acceptable use as a member of that organization.
Some companies and government agencies have even updated their policies around social media following Kirk’s death.
Sparks says there are some exceptions when it comes to freedom of speech and employers.
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“Like if there is an employment contract involved with a set term of employment that a termination would violate, a union collective bargaining agreement, or if the employer is a private entity that acts as a government agent or contractor. Or, if the speech is protected by another law, like the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act), then an employer cannot retaliate. However, in general, a private sector employee does not have freedom of speech rights against an employer,” Sparks said.
NewsNation did not receive a response from Harmony or WICS-ABC20 Springfield at the time of this piece’s publication.
