How Protected Is Your Speech?

            I never learned much about the creation of the state of Israel nor about the history of conflict between Jewish people and Arab people in the Middle East. I know generally that there has been conflict between Jews and Arabs for as long as I have been alive. I know a bit about the Biblical history of the Jewish people. But I never really had a working knowledge of the seeds of conflicts, the desires of each side, and the causes of the ongoing conflict.

            So I bought a book. And I am learning a lot.

            Which is more than I can say for a lot of folks who are spouting off and taking sides in the conflict without really having any idea about the historical context behind the current war. I support one of the sides over the other. I think one side is more right and the other is more wrong, but there is certainly enough blame to go around.

            But that brings me to my point. There are students out there in elite universities and law schools who have publicly taken sides without a full knowledge of the nuances and historical bases of the conflict, and as a result they have probably permanently damaged their future employment options.

            So there was a story days after the current war began where a NYU law student had chosen a side publicly. Their position seemed so grotesque that the white-shoe New York law firm that had hired them to begin working upon graduation pulled its offer. A future multimillion dollar career was suddenly off the table all because the law student decided to express their very unpopular opinion. At least the opinion was unpopular in the eyes of their future employer.

            If you follow any of this just a little bit, you saw stories that said while the student certainly had a right to express their opinion, the First Amendment did not protect that expression of opinion. That is because the First Amendment only protects Americans from adverse state action, not adverse action taken by a private entity.

            So for example, if the law student had an opportunity to work for the New York Attorney General, the pulling of the job offer might have been a violation of the First Amendment because the punishing actor would have been the state.

            But in Connecticut, the law is different. Connecticut has a statute that protects speech that conflicts with even a private employer’s beliefs. The Connecticut statute says that it is illegal for any employer, including private employers, to “subject or threaten to subject any employee to discharge or discipline on account of the exercise by such employee of rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

            That means that if the NYU law student had expressed her unpopular opinion and a Connecticut law firm pulled its offer of employment as a result, she would likely have a good claim for damages against the law firm.

            The same goes for any other private employer in the state. If you as a business owner find yourself dealing with conflict among employees who express their personal views on the war or any other issue, it is important that you not act immediately with discipline. It is best to speak with a lawyer to find out what you can and cannot due relative to any disruption which may occur in the workplace.