Opinion ID: 770662
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Pickering Analysis

Text: 23 Having determined that Belk spoke on a matter of public concern, we must next determine whether the actions of the board were improper. To do so, we balance the interests of the [employee], as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern and the interests of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. Pickering, 391 U.S. at 568. This highly fact-specific balancing requires full consideration of the government's interest in effective and efficient fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public. Connick, 461 U.S. at 150. Government entities, in their capacities as employers, have wide discretion and control over personnel decisions, internal affairs, discipline, and office policy. See Shands, 993 F.2d at 1344 (citing Connick, 461 U.S. at 151; Ex parte Curtis, 106 U.S. 371, 373 (1882)). 24 Under the Pickering test, a number of interrelated factors are taken into account in balancing the competing interests of government-employer and citizen-employee. These factors include: (1) the need for harmony in the office or work place; (2) whether the government's responsibilities require a close working relationship to exist between the plaintiff and co-workers when the speech in question has caused or would cause the relationship to deteriorate; (3) the time, manner, and place of the speech; (4) the context in which the dispute arose; (5) the degree of public interest in the speech; and (6) whether the speech impeded the employee's ability to perform his or her duties. See Shands, 993 F.2d at 1344 (quoting Bowman v. Pulaski County Special Sch. Dist., 723 F.2d 640, 644 (8th Cir. 1983) (citing Connick, 461 U.S. at 151-54)). Although the balancing of interests is a matter of law for the district court, the underlying factual questions should be submitted to the jury, generally through interrogatories or a special verdict form. See Shands, 993 F.2d at 1342. 25 In cases where the public employer cannot demonstrate that the employee's speech disrupted the workplace, however, the court need not proceed to a specific Pickering factor analysis absent exceptional circumstances. In Sexton v. Martin, we noted that some evidentiary showing is a threshold inquiry to the appropriate application of the Pickering factors. 210 F.3d 905, 911-12 (8th Cir. 2000). 26 Before the Court commences the Pickering balancing test, however, it is critical to determine whether the defendant has produced sufficient evidence that the speech had an adverse effect on the efficiency of the employer's operations. In other words, to put the Pickering balancing test at issue, the public employer must proffer sufficient evidence that the speech had an adverse impact on the department. The more the employee's speech reflects matters of public concern, the greater the employer's showing must be that the speech was disruptive before the speech can be punished. 27 Id., 210 F.3d at 911-12 (citing Burnham v. Ianni, 119 F.3d 668, 678-79 (8th Cir. 1997). Mere allegations of disruption are insufficient to put the Pickering balance at issue. Id. at 912; see Kincade, 64 F.3d at 398-99. Where there is no evidence of disruption, resort to the Pickering factors is unnecessary because there are no government interests in efficiency to weigh against First Amendment interests. 28 The defendants argue that the district court erred in refusing to submit to the jury three interrogatories addressing specific Pickering factors and instead substituting a broader inquiry as to whether the functions of the Eldon city government had been impeded. They assert that the district court's interrogatories provided an insufficient factual basis for the court to rule on the Pickering test and that under a proper application of the test they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. 29 The district court has broad discretion in ruling on proffered jury instructions, and its decision is subject to reversal only if the instructions, viewed in their entirety, contained an error or errors that affected the substantial rights of the parties. See Horstmeyer v. Black & Decker, 151 F.3d 765, 771 (8th Cir. 1998). So long as the charge as a whole adequately states the law, the district court has discretion over the style and wording of instructions. See id. (quoting Beckman v. Mayo Found., 804 F.2d 435, 438 (8th Cir. 1992)). 30 The defendants argue that their evidence that Belk's speech was disruptive was sufficient to raise a factual question of workplace impediment, pointing to Belk's testimony that Link's reaction to her speech made it difficult for Belk to perform her job. Belk counters that Link's reaction to her speech is properly understood as part of the city's retaliatory behavior and should not be considered when determining whether her speech was disruptive in and of itself. 31 In Burnham, we held that a government employer must make a substantial showing that the speech is, in fact, disruptive before the speech may be punished. 119 F.3d at 680. Although the record contains ample evidence that Eldon's city hall had become a tumultuous place to work, there is no indication that Belk's speech was the cause of that tumult. Belk's testimony that Link's reaction to her statements made her job more difficult is insufficient to show disruption without some evidentiary showing that the functioning of the city government suffered as a result of her discomfort. Accordingly, the district court cannot be said to have abused its discretion by submitting the threshold inquiry, rather than the specific Pickering factors, to the jury. 32 We conclude that the defendants failed to demonstrate sufficient evidence of workplace disruption to bring the Pickering factors into play and that the jury charge, as given, fairly and accurately stated the law to the jury. Moreover, the jury's specific finding that Belk's speech posed no impediment to the functioning of the city administration obviated the need for interrogatories incorporating the Pickering factors. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to submit them to the jury, and the defendants were not entitled to judgment as a matter of law on this issue.