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For the nation's 21 million government workers, Tuesday was not a particularly good day. In an opinion authored by Justice Kennedy and joined by the rest of the emerging conservative bloc--including Justice Alito in his first decisive vote--the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the First Amendment offers no protection against retaliation to public employees who, in the course of their duties, blow the whistle on waste, fraud or corruption. Public auditors fired after discovering and disclosing the embezzlement of municipal funds? Police officers demoted after reporting illicit activities by public officials? County engineers terminated after revealing that contractors' work wasn't up to snuff? None of them enjoy constitutional protection any longer. Nor do any other government workers in a dizzying array of whistleblower scenarios.
Garcetti v. Ceballos, No. 04-473, slip op. (U.S. Sup. Ct. Decided May 30, 2006)
The Court majority diminished the free speech rights of government workers, and undermined the country’s abiding interest in safe, competent and corruption-free government offices.
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