Question

Outline the Constitutional rights of public employees. ?

Answer 1

Government workers deserve immunity for comments that they make as people on issues of public interest, unless the speech affects the ability of the government agency to operate. According to the Garcetti v. Ceballos United States Supreme Court, the First Amendment does not cover comments made by a government employee as part of the official job duties of the employee. Federal legislation grants the private sector, but not the public sector, the right of workers to join unions, to have them bargain with employers for salaries and working conditions, and to take collective action over their jobs, including the right to strike.

Public employers can not compel workers to make claims which could be used in criminal cases against them. The United States Supreme Court in Garrity v. New Jersey said it violated the defense of the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination by trying to dismiss police officers who had not met with investigators. During an internal agency inquiry, a public contractor can ask an employee to answer questions, if the employee is told that no answers will be used to prosecute the employee.

Public workers are shielded from reprisals for the exercise of other First Amendment freedoms. Across this region, courts have been cautious, restricting rights to expression on "public interest" issues. The Supreme Court is not yet prepared to conclude that public employees are immune from retaliation for any First Amendment conduct. Thus, while the government could not arrest anybody for complaining about a slight rise, the government could also fire a public employee for that purpose, unless the complaint was a matter of "public concern"