Opinion ID: 1179762
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of Pickering Balancing Test

Text: Having determined that the speech in plaintiff's petition involves a matter of public concern, the court must balance plaintiff's First Amendment interest in commenting on a matter of public concern against the interest of the city, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. Rankin v. McPherson, supra, 483 U.S. at 388-91, 107 S.Ct. at 2899-2901. At the time that the trial court directed the verdict for defendants, the record did not support a finding that a legitimate city interest justified firing plaintiff. I find no evidence in the record that plaintiff's petition interfered with the city's interest in the effective and efficient fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public. Nothing in the record indicates that the circulation of plaintiff's petition impaired work-place discipline or created disharmony with co-workers. Nor does the record disclose any evidence that plaintiff's superiors reasonably believed that plaintiff's speech would disrupt the operation of the wastewater treatment plant where plaintiff worked, undermine his superior's authority, or destroy close working relationships. Like Rankin v. McPherson, supra , there was no evidence that plaintiff's statements had discredited the city or interfered with its efficient functioning. [15] Similarly, there is no evidence that plaintiff's petition was circulated in an inappropriate time, place or manner. Absent any particularized evidence of defendants' interests in this case, I must conclude that, based on the record the trial court had before it when it directed the verdict, the employer's (city's) interest in efficiency does not outweigh the employee's (plaintiff's) freedom of expression. Without such a showing, plaintiff's First Amendment rights predominate. I conclude, therefore, that defendants were not entitled to a directed verdict on the issue whether plaintiff's petition is protected speech under the First Amendment to the federal constitution.