Connecticut Employee Speech Protection Law Might Protect Warren-Not-Indian / Jenner-Not-Woman Meme
From Mumma v. Pathway Vet Alliance, LLC, decided Wednesday by Magistrate Judge Thomas Farrish (D. Conn.); for more on the employee free speech protection statutes such as the one in this case, see this article and this one:
On the evening of June 9, 2020, Ms. Mumma posted a meme to her personal Facebook page. Under a banner reading “No Wonder Liberals Are So Confused,” the meme contained photos of eight different political and cultural figures with a single word under each. For example, a picture of former NAACP Spokane chapter president Rachel Dolezal was captioned “Black;” a picture of former Vice President Al Gore was captioned “scientist;” and a picture of former President Bill Clinton was captioned “husband.” Most relevant to this case, a photo of Senator Elizabeth Warren was accompanied by the word “Indian,” and a photo of Caitlyn Jenner was captioned “woman.” The meme is reproduced here:
Dr. Moore [a manager at Pathway] saw the meme on either June 9 or June 10. She testified that when she first saw it, she “had some concerns because [she] could see how people would find it offensive.” She was particularly concerned about the Jenner and Warren panels, because she regarded them as “potentially very offensive to protected classes of people.” With respect to the Warren panel, Dr. Moore observed that the use of the term “Indian” in place of “Native American” “can be taken offensively,” but “[i]t was more that the … goal of this meme was to question how people identify themselves.” And with respect to the Jenner panel, Dr. Moore “personally [found] it offensive to question how a transgender person chooses to identify themselves.” …
Dr. Moore … [also] receive[d] complaints from other Thrive employees who had seen the meme. Lee Pitts found it “offensive,” particularly the Jenner panel. Sara Lisak “was really disappointed” and “surprised” because “she wouldn’t expect this from Candice,” and she regarding the meme as “hateful and derogatory.” Chrissy McGregor “also expressed disappointment … and confusion … and she shared … that she just wouldn’t have expected such a harmful or hurtful post from Candice toward so many people.” Another employee, Kendra Williams, complained in an e-mail that the meme was “hateful, intolerant and anti-inclusive—specifically to our transgendered community.” Dr. Moore grew concerned “that the members of the team would not be able to work closely with [Ms. Mumma], trust her, have a good, open working relationship with her,” but at her deposition she conceded that none of those people “expressed to [her] directly that they would not be able to work with Candice going forward.”
Dr. Moore and Ms. Shields discussed the meme, and afterwards Ms. Shields convened a videoconference with Ms. Mumma on June 11, 2020…. Ms. Shields … explained that Ms. Mumma “is in a very visible role as a recruiter in which we need to be aware of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and that her post—”which is on a public Facebook page open to everyone”—”could be seen by potential candidates
Article from Reason.com
