Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Labor & Employment Law Blogs -> New York Public Personnel Law

Labor & Employment Law

: New York Public Personnel Law

Terminated volunteer wins first amendment case

Terminated volunteer wins first amendment case
Wonder v Hyland, CA9, 127 F3 1135

Only rarely does one find litigation involving the separation of a volunteer worker. One such case: Wonder v Hyland, CA9, 127 F3 1135. Roy L. Wonder was a volunteer with a juvenile probation department for 10 years. He alleged that he was "fired" from his position in retaliation for writing a memorandum critical of the facility's management.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that volunteers have the same First Amendment right to speak on matters of public interest that government employees enjoy [Pickering v Board of Education, 391 US 563] despite the fact that they were not technically government employees.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on March 06, 2010 (boomark / email).