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Important Free Speech Case from Supreme Court

In an important 6-2 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that a demoted employee could pursue his Section 1983 action against his employer.  At the heart of the case was the significance of whether “a government official demoted an employee because the official believed, but incorrectly believed, that the employee had supported a particular candidate for mayor.”  Plaintiff Heffernan was a police officer in Paterson, New Jersey, working for the police chief.  Heffernan was seen picking up a campaign sign for his bedridden mother, and co-workers and supervisors jumped to the conclusion that Heffernan supported the opposing candidate.  Heffernan was demoted, despite his protestation that he was merely running his mother’s errand and not involved in the campaign of the chief’s rival.  The City took the position that they couldn’t possibly be depriving Heffernan of his free speech rights if he wasn’t even speaking.  The Court disagreed.

Justice Breyer wrote for the majority:  “When an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the employee from engaging in political activity that the First Amendment protects, the employee is entitled to challenge that unlawful action under the First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983—even if, as here, the employer makes a factual mistake about the employee’s behavior.  We note that a rule of law finding liability in these circumstances tracks the language of the First Amendment more closely than would a contrary rule.”  In reaching this holding, the Court found that the focus of the inquiry is on the employer’s motive, not the employee’s activity or non-activity.  Click here for the full decision in Heffernan v Paterson, No. 14-1280, 2016 WL 1627953, at *5 (U.S. Apr. 26, 2016).