iStock Censoring the Advocate
In New Jersey, your publicly available statements are fair game for an employer to consider when making decisions impacting the terms and conditions of your employment. In short, in some circumstances in New Jersey, and elsewhere, you can be fired for your speech.
November 23, 2020 at 10:00 AM
7 minute read
We lawyers are advocates. We are taught from day one in law school to fight with words; manipulate words; use old words to build the foundation for new theories and thereafter have new words to fight with. So it is understandable that lawyers, especially young lawyers raised in the age of social media, would feel compelled to put those advocacy skills to work to progress their social and political causes of choice. Even more so in an election year. Even, even more so in this election year.
Being an advocate in one's personal life can require as little as one click. One retweet or re-post or "share to stories," and boom, you are part of the public discourse so revered in this country—without even having to use your own words. Indeed to not retweet, repost or share to stories is starting to feel like being on the wrong side of history right now. However, lawyers of all people should know that speech is not actually all that free in this country. And one arena in which speech is particularly not free is the employment relationship.
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