AFGE sues to protect federal employee speech rights

The American Federation of Government Employees and AFGE Local 2578 last week sued the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to protect the First Amendment rights of federal employees. The suit follows guidance issued by the OSC that presumptively restricts federal employees from expressing any opinion on “impeachment” or policy matters if the words “#resist” or “resistance” are used. "The members of Local 2578 work every day at the National Archives and Records Administration to preserve and provide public access to the records of our democracy,” said Ashby Crowder, President of AFGE Local 2578. “This opinion is an extreme and unprecedented interpretation of the Hatch Act that violates federal employees' First Amendment rights. The chilling effect it has on the workplace deserves to be challenged." Read more here

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