I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7398 

To ensure the ability of public safety officers to retain their right to free 

speech on matters related to public safety, working conditions, and other 

matters. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2024 

Mr. VAN DREW (for himself and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To ensure the ability of public safety officers to retain their 

right to free speech on matters related to public safety, 

working conditions, and other matters. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Free 

5 Speech Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

9 employee’’ means— 


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1 (A) a qualified law enforcement officer (as 

2 defined in section 926B(c) of title 18, United 

3 States Code); 

4 (B) an individual employed by an employer 

5 for the purposes of providing fire-fighting serv6 ices or emergency medical services; or 

7 (C) a Federal firefighter described in sec8 tion 8331(21) or 8401(14) of title 5, United 

9 States Code. 

10 (2) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

11 means— 

12 (A) a law enforcement agency, fire depart13 ment, fire district, or emergency medical serv14 ices agency which employs a covered employee 

15 on either a full-time or part-time basis; or 

16 (B) a county, township, village, city, mu17 nicipality, special district, fire authority, county 

18 improvement district, authority, public entity 

19 with the authority to spend or receive public 

20 funds, or other political subdivisions of a State 

21 and includes any entity jointly created by 2 or 

22 more public employers. 

23 (3) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMA24 TION.—The term ‘‘personally identifiable informa25 tion’’ means information— 


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1 (A) that directly identifies an individual, 

2 including name, address, social security number 

3 or other identifying number or code, telephone 

4 number, email address; or 

5 (B) by which an organization is able to 

6 identify specific individuals in conjunction with 

7 other data elements. 

8 SEC. 3. CAUSE OF ACTION FOR VIOLATING THE RIGHT TO 

9 FREE SPEECH. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, a covered employee may bring an action 

12 against an employer if the employer engages in termi13 nation or any adverse employment action against the em14 ployee for making oral or written statements expressing 

15 the employee’s personal opinion on matters pertaining 

16 to— 

17 (1) delivery of public safety services; 

18 (2) employee compensation or benefits; 

19 (3) working conditions or scheduling, including 

20 the provision of personal protective equipment, work 

21 tools and equipment, or work vehicles; 

22 (4) employer’s policies or procedures; 

23 (5) other expectations or requirements that the 

24 employer places on a covered employee as a term or 

25 condition of their employment; or 


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1 (6) political and religious opinions. 

2 (b) RELIEF.—A plaintiff that prevails in an action 

3 under subsection (a) may receive actual damages, compen4 satory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, any 

5 combination of those, attorneys’ fees and costs, and any 

6 other appropriate relief. 

7 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

8 written or oral comments that— 

9 (1) are made while the covered employee is on 

10 duty; 

11 (2) express any encouragement of, or intent, to 

12 commit violence or other illegal actions; 

13 (3) advocate for discrimination or support fa14 voritism when discharging their professional duties; 

15 (4) intentionally disclose confidential or person16 ally identifiable information pertaining to specific in17 dividuals with whom the covered employee has 

18 interacted with in the course of performing their 

19 work or other job-related duties; or 

20 (5) suggest, advocate for, support, or otherwise 

21 communicate that essential services should be with22 held, delayed, or diminished as a form of job action 

23 or protest. 

24 This Act shall not be construed to preempt, preclude, or 

25 supersede section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1983) or any State law that provides a cause of action 

2 for deprivation of rights under color of law. 

Æ 


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