Garrison Law partner Nina Pirrotti was recently quoted in an ABA Journal article discussing discipline for employees’ controversial social media posts following the recent death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
The article, entitled “Should There Be Discipline For Employees’ Controversial Social Media Posts?”, discusses this critical and fraught concern following Kirk’s recent publicized passing.
In the wake of Kirk’s death on September 10, numerous employees across various sectors—including teachers, airline staff, lawyers, and first responders—have been terminated due to their social media posts and comments.
While nearly 30 states have laws that offer some protection for an employee’s off-duty conduct, many of these statutes provide limited recourse. According to the article, if an employer can demonstrate that a post related to Kirk could negatively impact their business, the employee’s actions may not be protected in states like New York.
Connecticut stands out as an exception, offering the most robust protections for private employee speech. Nina Pirrotti provided legal context on this distinction in the article.
“As long as an employee is speaking as a private individual and not in an official capacity . . . and the employee’s conduct does not significantly interfere with the employee’s job performance or working relationship between the employee and the employer, they are protected [in Connecticut] for speaking out on matters of public concern. To my knowledge, no other state in the country provides that level of protection.”
“It’s keeping me up at night,” Pirrotti says. She hopes other states will follow Connecticut and pass laws “to counter the scary, dangerous mindset of penalizing employees for speaking on matters of public concern.”