Speaking Freely Are you breaking First Amendment law when you fire that loudmouthed employee?

Suppose you have an employee who denounces your businessdecisions at every opportunity (and at the worst times), or onewhose vocal opposition to gun control or abortion or governmentpolicy has become a constant irritant in the office. The U.S.Constitution guarantees citizens a right to free speech, so youcan't do anything about it. Or can you?

In many cases, you can. Workers assume they have aconstitutional right to say almost anything they want, but the lawprotects only certain types of speech. And while the law in somestates protects employees from retaliation for exercising theirFirst Amendment rights, courts often defer to employers whodiscipline workers over letting them speak their minds, if theyhave a legitimate business interest in doing so.