Social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s death prompt firings across Texas

An employment attorney says private employers have right to fire or discipline workers because of political speech.

DALLAS — The First Amendment gives Americans the right to speak and the right to post, but it does not give Americans the right to keep a job.

Disciplinary action is being taken by employers across Texas against workers who posted about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

There are documented cases of pilots and professors being fired because of what they said on social media.

“A private employer can fire or discipline an employee for political speech,” said Dallas employment attorney Rogge Dunn, who has tried multiple First Amendment cases in court.

The First Amendment protects you “only from the government taking adverse action against you because you speak out,” he said.

Private companies can fire a worker because of something said or written, no matter if the comment was made on someone’s own personal time.

“You really don’t have any off time anymore,” Dunn said. “And remember, employers can say, you can’t smoke, period – off campus, on campus. They can have an anti-smoking policy that we don’t hire smokers.”

“Employers are regulating employees’ personal lives every day in every way, and it’s legal,” he said.

Dunn does question how far the state of Texas could take cases of teachers being permanently banned from teaching in the state over a post, an action Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath implied they’re considering.

Friday, the TEA sent a letter to superintendents saying teachers’ posts could “constitute a violation of the Educators’ Code of Ethics.”

Morath said instances of inappropriate content being shared should be reported to the state.

Monday, the TEA confirmed approximately 180 cases had been reported and said the agency’s Educator Investigations Unit is “currently reviewing each complaint.”

Morath said the agency would determine whether “sanctionable conduct” has occurred. But Gov. Abbott indicated on social media what the sanctions would be.

“Those educators — more than 100 – will have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school,” he posted.

Dunn is skeptical about actions against educators.

While the First Amendment doesn’t protect private employees, it does protect government employees, Dunn said.

“That would include someone working at a government agency, someone at a school district, a fire department, first responders…all those have First Amendment protections,” he said.

“I think if those actions are followed through by the governor, they’re gonna face a lot of lawsuits. And if you’d ask me, I’d rather be on the teacher’s side of that lawsuit.”

Texas AFT, an association that represents thousands of education employees across the state, called the TEA’s stance a witch hunt.

“These ‘investigations’ into teachers exercising their First Amendment rights outside their official duties silence dissent and encourage the purging of civil servants,” the organization wrote in a statement.

Dunn’s advice is simple.

“Anything you post can and will be used against you,” he said. “So, be careful what you say.”