Opinion ID: 167809
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: E lements of R etaliation Claim

Text: M s. Saurini contends that the School District retaliated against her because of her reports of child abuse and her complaints about a team-approval policy that allegedly restricted her authority to report abuse. W hether the defendants violated M s. Saurini’s rights under the First Amendment is determined under the four-prong test articulated by the Supreme Court in Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School District, 391 U.S. 563 (1968). As we stated in Orr v. City of Albuquerque, 417 F.3d 1144, 1154 (10th Cir. 2005): The first three steps of the Pickering test are (1) whether the speech touches on a matter of public concern, (2) whether the employee’s interest in commenting on matters of public concern outweighs the interest of the state in promoting the efficiency of the public service it performs through its employees, and (3) whether the protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor behind the adverse employment decision. If these three factors are met, (4) the burden shifts to the employer to establish that it would have reached the same decision in the absence of the protected conduct. (internal quotation marks omitted). The first two prongs are to be decided by the court as a matter of law ; the last two prongs are questions of fact for the jury to decide. See McFall v. Bednar, 407 F.3d 1081, 1088 (10th Cir. 2005). (The recent Supreme Court decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 129 S. Ct. 1951 (2006), added a gloss on Pickering for employees speaking in their official capacities. But we need not consider what, if any, effect that decision would have, because it could only help the defendants.) -4-