11th Holds That Disgrunted Employee's Comments Are Not Protected Under The First Amendment

Myles v. Richmond County Board of Education, __F.3d __(11th Cir. March 18, 2008), is a case which illustrates how narrow the protection is for public employee speech. The court held that a school district employee's complaint was not on a matter of public concern, and thus not protected by First Amendment. Although a school district employee's complaints that unqualified persons were being appointed to positions in the school district touched on an important matter of public interest, her speech, which centered predominantly around, and were driven by, her displeasure with having been denied promotions, was not on a matter of public concern, and thus not protected by First Amendment. The employee did not address her complaints to the public and voiced her concerns as a disgruntled employee rather than as a citizen concerned about corruption.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein