Moonin v. Tice

A public employer generally may not subject all employee speech regarding a particular government program—whether fact or opinion, and whether liable to disrupt the workplace or not—to a blanket ban. The Ninth Circuit held that the sweeping policy imposed by Defendant Major Kevin Tice's email regarding the Nevada Highway Patrol K9 program violated the troopers' clearly established First Amendment rights. The panel affirmed the district court's denial of qualified immunity, holding that the policy covered speech outside the troopers' official duties, whether or not some speech within those duties was also covered; the policy reached speech on matters of public concern; and the prospective speech restriction imposed by defendant's email violated the First Amendment. The panel also held that a "robust consensus" of prior cases made clear at the time defendant issued his edict that an employer ordinarily may not prohibit its employees from all public discussion relating to a particular department or government program. View "Moonin v. Tice" on Justia Law