Social Services Caseworkers’ Speech Was Not Protected By First Amendment
Case workers employed by a county in investigating cases of alleged child abuse/neglect filed suit to recover for adverse employment action allegedly taken against them in retaliation for their exercise of their free speech rights. The United States District Court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the 11th Circuit reversed, holding that the case workers, in complaining through e-mails and other internal channels that the size of their caseloads put certain children at risk, were speaking as government employees about their jobs; consequently, their speech was not protected by the First Amendment.
Boyce v. Andrew
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ jurisdiction includes Alabama, Georgia and Florida.