Supreme Court Holds Employer's Mistaken Belief Concerning Protected Speech Enough to Support First Amendment Retaliation Claim
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision earlier this week confirming that an employee can bring a First Amendment Retaliation claim where he suffers an adverse action based upon the employer's mistaken belief that he engaged in protected speech. You can read the decision, Heffernan v. City of Patterson, here . Heffernan involved a police officer who was demoted because of his employer's mistaken belief that he supported the mayor's rival in an election. In a 6-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision holding that Heffernan's claim that his managers' mistaken belief he was supporting the mayor's rival and his demotion are sufficient basis to raise a First Amendment retaliation claim under Section 1983. The decision was authored by Justice Breyer, with only Justice Alito and Justice Thomas dissenting. The opinion is unquestionably a huge victory for public employees because it focuses on the employer's motivation for t...