Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American WorkplaceA factory worker is fired because her boss disagrees with her political bumper sticker. A stockbroker feels pressure to resign from an employer who disapproves of his off-hours political advocacy. A flight attendant is grounded because her airline doesn't like what she's writing in her personal blog. Is it legal to fire people for speech that makes employers uncomfortable, even if the content has little or nothing to do with their job or workplace? For most American workers, the alarming answer is yes. Speechless takes on the state of free expression in the American workplace, exploring its history, explaining how and why Americans have come to take freedom of speech for granted, and demonstrating how employers can legally punish employees for speaking their minds. |
Contents
Speechless at Work in America | 1 |
1 When Work and Speech Collide | 11 |
2 Constitutional Rights in Public and Private | 26 |
3 Unemployment at Will | 42 |
4 Public Employee Speech | 63 |
5 A Chill in the Private Sector | 96 |
6 Why Free Speech Works | 125 |
7 Civil Rights and Wrongs | 140 |
Other editions - View all
Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace Bruce Barry Limited preview - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed July action Alexander Meiklejohn Amendment Center American appeals court at-will autonomy behavior blog Bruce Barry Chapter civil rights codes collectivist communication conduct Connick corporate create decision democracy democratic discrimination due process employee rights employee speech employer interests employment law Employment-at-Will Erwin Chemerinsky Estlund Ethics Eugene Volokh example exception to employment expres expressive activity expressive rights federal fired firm free expression free speech free speech rights freedom of expression Freedom of Speech harassment Ibid idea individual involved issues Journal Justice labor law law professor Law Review lawsuit liberty matter of public ment off-work one’s opinion organizations Paine Webber participate percent Pickering political activity private-sector public concern public employees public policy public-policy exception public-sector reason regulation religion rules sector sexual social society someone statute tion U.S. Supreme Court violation Wal-Mart whistleblowing workers workplace expression