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Chapter 10
Constitutional and Civil Rights
in the Government Workplace
Constitutional Law
13th Edition
Introduction
We demand from our law enforcement officers,
and properly so, adherence to demanding
standards which are higher than those applied in
10 Government Workplace
Work-Related Speech
Police officers are entitled to First Amendment
protection for work-related speech only when they:
•Speak in their capacity as a citizen, rather than
10 Government Workplace
Employee or Citizen?
•No First Amendment protection:
oGarcetti v. Ceballos
▪When government employees make statements
pursuant to their official duties, they speak as
10 Government Workplace
Public Concern Requirement
Public or private concern is determined by:
•Content
oAllegations of official misconduct are always a
matter of public concern
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Public Concern
If a police officer's work-related speech satisfies
the content and form requirements, First
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Off-Duty Speech
•Can be disciplined if their off-duty speech:
oImpairs the police department’s efficient
•Political activity
oMany states have laws (Hatch Acts) prohibiting
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Supervisory Searches
Police officers can successfully challenge a
supervisory search only if:
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Garrity Immunity
•Fifth Amendment questions:
oCan an officer be compelled to answer, under
•Garrity v. New Jersey
oOfficers can be compelled to make self-
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Personal Liberty
•Fourteenth Amendment
oPolice departments often impose significant
• “Paramilitary organizations"
oNot entitled to the same Fourteenth
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Title VII
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Equal
Employment Opportunities):
•Successful challenges to minimum height and
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Disciplinary Actions
•Fourteenth Amendment protection sometimes
available
•Property right in a job
oAn officer’s job must be one that cannot be
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Disparate Treatment
•Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
•When an employer intentionally treats others less
•Employee burden of proof:
oMember of the class
oQualified or performed satisfactorily
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Disparate Impact
•Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
•An employer uses selection criteria that
disproportionately eliminate members of a
protected class without being valid predictors of
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Workplace Harassment
•Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
•Quid pro quo sexual harassment
•Hostile work environment sexual harassment
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Equal Protection
•Affirmative action plans
•Police may undertake affirmative action plans
only if:
oThey have a compelling need to:
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Constitutional Accountability
•Title 42 U.S.C. § 1983
•Civil liability for officers who:
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Qualified Immunity
Police are immune from liability for violating a
constitutional right if:
•the right was not clearly established at the time
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