Opinion ID: 168639
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Reprimand and Position Reclassification

Text: 23 Assuming the April 30 letter to the editor involved a matter of public concern, this court must next balance the employee's interest in commenting upon matters of public concern against the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. McFall v. Bednar, 407 F.3d 1081, 1089 (10th Cir.2005) (quotation omitted). In performing this balancing test, the court must consider the manner, time, and place of the speech, as well as the context in which the dispute arose. Weaver v. Chavez, 458 F.3d 1096, 1100 (10th Cir. 2006). For the balance to tip in favor of the government employer, the employer bears the burden of showing the infringement on the employee's speech was necessary to prevent disruption and ensure efficient public services. Cragg v. City of Osawatomie, 143 F.3d 1343, 1346 (10th Cir.1998). Further, this court may require a stronger showing of justification by the government when the employee's speech more substantially implicated matters of public concern. Id. 24 In evaluating the government interest in restricting the speech, the court may consider whether the statement impairs discipline by superiors or harmony among co-workers, has a detrimental impact on close working relationships for which personal loyalty and confidence are necessary, or impedes the performance of the speaker's duties or interferes with the regular operation of the enterprise. Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378, 388, 107 S.Ct. 2891, 97 L.Ed.2d 315 (1987). This court will generally defer to a public employer's reasonable predictions of disruption, as long as the predictions are supported by specific evidence. Cragg, 143 F.3d at 1347; see also Weaver, 458 F.3d at 1100. When the adverse employment action takes place several months after the employee's speech, however, it is no longer reasonable for the government to rely on predictions of disruption which did not materialize. Kent v. Martin, 252 F.3d 1141, 1145-46 (10th Cir.2001); see also id. at 1145 (Our cases applying the `reasonable prediction of disruption' standard have done so in the context of a termination soon after the employee's exercise of speech, when the intent of the termination was to avoid actual disruption.). Rather, once a sufficient time has passed, the government employer may satisfy its burden only by showing specific evidence of actual disruption. Id. at 1145-46 ([The `reasonable prediction of disruption'] standard is inapplicable when an employer has allowed an employee to continue to work after the protected expression.); Hulen, 322 F.3d at 1239. 25 Turning first to Deschenie's interest in the April 30 letter to the editor, this court concludes her interest is significant but not overwhelming. By the time this letter was written, the issue of bilingual education had become a topic of high interest to the general public. As the director of the bilingual education program, Deschenie's position on the issue was particularly valuable in informing the public debate. Further, Deschenie's speech sought to expose to the public the School Board's lack of support for the bilingual education program. While such expression may not weigh as heavily in the employee's favor as directly exposing government corruption, it is nevertheless significant. See Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 797 (10th Cir.1988) ([S]peech that seeks to expose improper operations of the government ... clearly concerns vital public interests.). This is especially true, given the importance of the bilingual education program to the community and its connection to state education funding. Likewise, it would be difficult to identify a manner of speech more closely connected with matters of public concern than publication in a local newspaper. 26 Weighing against Deschenie's interest, however, are the specific content of the speech and the manner in which the speech took place. The letter did not explicitly allege lack of compliance with state law, as Deschenie had previously done. Instead, the letter merely expressed her personal support for Navajo education and her own frustration with the lack of support she and her staff received from the administration. In addition, Deschenie did not intend for the letter to be published. Thus, her motive was not to inform the public on the matter, but to engage in private speech with a friend. While such speech may still implicate matters of public concern under the first step of the analysis, it does not weigh as heavily in the Pickering balancing test. 27 In the proceedings below, the Board attempted to further minimize Deschenie's interest by arguing her statements were knowingly false once Manning clarified he intended to improve the bilingual program, rather than eliminate it. Because an employee has no First Amendment interest in making statements which are deliberately or recklessly false, such statements must be given little weight in the balancing inquiry. Dill, 155 F.3d at 1202. The letter to the editor, however, did not claim the Board was eliminating the program, but instead explained Deschenie's concerns about the program's lack of support. Given the circumstances, the evidence supports a conclusion that Deschenie's concerns about the program were reasonable and not knowingly or recklessly false. 28 The court now turns to the Board's interest as an employer in restricting Deschenie's speech. Assuming the reprimand and position reclassification constituted adverse actions, these adverse actions occurred within a month after the publication of the letter to the editor. Therefore, at this point in time, the Board could justify any adverse action taken against Deschenie by its reasonable predictions of disruption. This court has noted previously that [a] government employer is not required `to allow events to unfold to the extent that the disruption of the office and the destruction of working relationships is manifest before taking action.' Weaver, 458 F.3d at 1100 (quoting Connick, 461 U.S. at 152, 103 S.Ct. 1684). If the employer's concerns are reasonable and formed in good faith and not purely speculative allegations, these concerns may form a justifiable basis for regulating employee speech. Gardetto, 100 F.3d at 815-16. 29 As noted above, this court must consider the employer's interest in light of the manner, time, place, and context of the employee speech. Based on these considerations, the Board had a strong interest in restricting Deschenie's speech because of the potential disruption which could arise from its apparent inconsistent positions regarding the bilingual education program. The letter to the editor was published as signed by Deschenie in her capacity as a school administrator. When a government employee purports to speak on behalf of the government employer, the employer has a strong interest in controlling the speech. Moore v. City of Wynnewood, 57 F.3d 924, 933 (10th Cir.1995). It is irrelevant that Deschenie did not intend for this letter to be so published because the speech, as ultimately printed, included her title, thus connecting CCSD to the letter. 30 Deschenie's position as Director of Indian Education and Bilingual Education also weighs heavily in favor of the Board's interest in restricting her speech. The Supreme Court has explained [t]he burden of caution employees bear with respect to the words they speak will vary with the extent of authority and public accountability the employee's role entails. Rankin, 483 U.S. at 390, 107 S.Ct. 2891. Here, not only was Deschenie speaking as a school official, but she was the school official in charge of the very program the speech concerned, making her statements even more capable of interfering with the Board's official position. The manner in which Deschenie spoke further increased the potential for disruption. By going outside internal channels and airing her concerns publicly without district approval, Deschenie chose a method of expression which inherently had greater potential for disruption than other alternatives. 9 See Lytle v. City of Haysville, 138 F.3d 857, 865 (10th Cir.1998). 31 Finally, the highly public nature of the issue and the public's confusion over the intent of the School Board weigh heavily in favor of the Board's interest in setting forth its position as clearly as possible. Deschenie herself admitted in a deposition there had been a public misconception the bilingual program would be eliminated. An email from the head of the bilingual program stating the powers-that-be criticize the teaching of Navajo language and culture, whether intended to be published or not, would surely have the potential to fuel this misconception. 32 Given all of these circumstances, it was reasonable for the Board to predict disruption arising from the publication of the letter to the editor at the time of the reprimand and position reclassification. Thus, its interest in avoiding this disruption outweighed Deschenie's speech interest at that time, and her April 30 letter to the editor does not merit First Amendment protection for purposes of the reprimand and position reclassification.