Javitz v. County of Luzerne—constitutional—partial reversal—Restrepo

The human resources director for a Pennsylvania county complained to her superiors that another county employee had broken the law by recording her meeting with union representatives without her consent. Things went downhill from there: she alleged that the county then retaliated against her, and it eventually fired her without explanation. She sued, alleging that her firing violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The district court ruled for the county on both claims, but today the Third Circuit reversed and remanded on her First Amendment retaliation claim. The court rejected the district court’s ruling that her speech was unprotected because she spoke as a public employee rather than a private citizen: “Who Javitz spoke to, what she spoke about, and why she spoke at all each fall outside the scope of her primary job duties and evidence citizen speech.”

Joining Restrepo were Porter and Fisher. Arguing counsel were Donna EM Davis of Throop, Pa., for the plaintiff, Vernon Francis of Dechert for the ACLU as amicus supporting the plaintiff, and Mark Bufalino of Elliott Greenleaf for the county.