From Sanchez v. Almond, decided Wednesday by Judge John McConnell (D.R.I.):
Mr. Sanchez began working at the office of Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee in May 2021 as a "constituent services" staffer.
uncertain
Sanchez → decide → staffer
The office is "the first point of contact with the public for the Governor's office" where employees handled calls, emails, letters, walk-ins, constituent problems, requests, and questions about the Governor's positions.
asserted
employees → handle → positions
Mr. Sanchez was not a member of senior staff, and did not formulate policy, or policy developments.
asserted
Sanchez → formulate → policy
While the scope of his employment is shaded differently by the parties, they all agree that his duties involved, among other things, helping Rhode Islanders access public benefits and triaging their concerns by referring them to the appropriate departments.
asserted
Islanders → shade → departments
The office received roughly 500 calls and 400 emails per month.
asserted
office → receive → month
Mr. Sanchez's direct supervisor was David Barricelli, who reported to Joseph Almond, Senior Deputy Chief of Staff, who in turn reported to Antonio Afonso, the Chief of Staff in charge of hiring and firing in the Governor's office, including Mr. Sanchez.
asserted
who → report → Sanchez
Mr. Sanchez's performance was never called into question, and he was never disciplined before his termination….
asserted
he → call → termination
Sanchez was also a Providence City Council member (and his superiors had not objected to his running for local office).
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel killing roughly 1,200 people and Israel responded with fierce military actions in Gaza, whose population is overwhelmingly Palestinian.
asserted
population → object → Gaza
That day, the Governor's office issued a statement condemning "the abhorrent acts of terrorism by Hamas against innocent civilians in Israel" and expressed solidarity with Israel.
asserted
office → issue → Israel
The same day, Mr. Sanchez posted on his personal social media a call for "respect of all human rights, especially the Palestinian people who faced atrocities for decades[,] and at the same time condemn all attacks on civilians."
asserted
who → post → civilians
Ten days later, Mr. Sanchez posted that the United States was "actively aiding in a genocide" and called for "immediate deescalation and cease-fire."
asserted
States → post → deescalation
On October 22, 2023, while off duty, he posted on the platform "X" (formerly known as "Twitter"):
"prov did not disappoint … yesterday, I marched with thousands of people calling for an immediate ceasefire and a [sic] end to the occupation"
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I → post → occupation
The video attached depicted scores of people marching in Providence, Rhode Island.
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video → attach → Providence
Some members of the Governor's staff thought that rally participants had chanted "from the river to the sea."
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participants → think → sea
That said, nothing suggests that Mr. Sanchez adopted or repeated that phrase nor is there evidence to suggest he endorsed that chant, or is in favor of violence.
uncertain
he → say → violence
{No one disputes Mr. Sanchez's account "@MSanchezPVD" represents his employment as a City Councilman not his employment at the Governor's office suggesting that he was acting outside his capacity in the Governor's office.
asserted
he → dispute → office
The post led to concern at the Governor's office, and to media questions:
asserted
post → lead → questions
On October 23rd, the Governor's Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, Rico Vota, counseled Mr. Sanchez not to make new posts reflecting his opinion, to keep a low profile, to speak to Mr. Afonso, and to tell the communications team about any media inquiries.
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Director → counsel → inquiries
He did not, however, ask him to remove the posts.
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He → ask → posts
Mr. Vota notified Matthew Sheaff, the Governor's Senior Advisor for Communication, who likewise recommended that Mr. Sanchez keep a low profile, which Mr. Sanchez did.
asserted
Sanchez → notify → which
That same day, two media outlets, NBC 10 WJAR and The Providence Journal's Katherine Gregg, asked the Governor's office about the rally but did not mention Mr. Sanchez or his posts.
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outlets → ask → Sanchez
In response, the Governor issued a statement that he "unequivocally condemn[ed] the despicable acts of war and terror perpetrated by Hamas against the people of Israel.
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he → issue → Israel
The next day Ms. Gregg asked the Governor's communications team to confirm that Mr. Sanchez worked for the Governor and Mr. Sheaff replied that "… [a] member of our senior staff has spoken with the individual, and the situation is under review."
asserted
situation → ask → review
Ms. Gregg also contacted Mr. Sanchez, but he did not respond to her and instead told Mr. Sheaff about her inquiry, apologizing for "dragging you guys into this."
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he → contact → this
On October 25th, Ms. Gregg published an article identifying Mr. Sanchez as a Constituent Services associate; NBC 10 WJAR and a WPRO radio host then asked the office about him, and NBC 10 reported on the post.
asserted
NBC → publish → post
A state legislator asked Mr. Vota whether the employee in the article "worked downstairs."
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employee → ask → article
On October 26th, Mr. Barricelli reported to Mr. Almond that Constituent Services had received three emails and two phone messages about Mr. Sanchez's post, all after Ms. Gregg's article.
asserted
Services → report → article
Mr. Almond did not consider these "to be a lot," and they did not interfere with the office's operations.
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they → consider → operations
Mr. Almond testified that addressing such matters was within his own regular duties, and Mr. Barricelli testified that fielding such comments is the associates' job.
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fielding → testify → comments
Afonso and Almond demanded that Sanchez take the post down, but he refused; he was then fired.
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he → demand → post
Sanchez sued, and the court held that Sanchez's First Amendments rights were violated (and so clearly that the defendants weren't entitled to qualified immunity):
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defendants → sue → immunity
The First Amendment protects the right of a public employee to speak on matters of public concern, and that right "is not lost when an individual chooses to work for the government."
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individual → protect → government
Public employees' speech on matters of public concern, on their own time, is speech long understood to "occup[y] the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values."
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speech → understand → values
Nonpolitical public employees do not "surrender" their First Amendment rights by accepting government employment.
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employees → surrender → employment
…
The Court "must balance the interests of the employee, as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of concern and the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees."
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it → balance → employees
"This balancing act is commonly referred to as the Pickering balancing" after the Supreme Court's decision in Pickering v. Board of Ed. (1968)….
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act → refer → Ed
On Mr. Sanchez's side, speech on public issues occupies the greatest of First Amendment protection, and the stronger the speech interest, the stronger the justification the employer must offer.
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employer → occupy → protection
{The interest by the employee and the public is heightened when the employee is also an elected official, as was Mr. Sanchez.}
asserted
Sanchez → heighten → employee
On Defendants' side, legitimate interests include avoiding unnecessary disruption and inefficiency, maintaining discipline and harmony in the workplace, and protecting close working relationships that depend on loyalty and confidence.
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that → include → loyalty
A reasonable prediction of disruption receives significant weight, and an employer need not wait until disruption becomes manifest before acting.
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disruption → receive → weight
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
