Section 5 Matter of Public Concern

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

“Whether an employee’s speech addresses a matter of public concern must be determined by the content, form, and context of a given statement, as revealed by the whole record.” Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 147–48 (1983). This inquiry is a question of law, not fact. Id. at n.7. Courts are more likely to find that speech relates to a matter of public concern if it pertains to political, social, or community issues and if the speech is public rather than private. See, e.g., Pickering v. Bd. of Educ. of Twp....