CAN MY EMPLOYER FIRE ME FOR HAVING A BUMPER STICKER THAT SAYS “HAVE YOU DRUGGED YOUR KID TODAY?”
Evidently, they think it is ok in Arizona. Tarah Ausburn, an English teacher in Surprise, Arizona, made and displayed this bumper sticker in order to make a statement over-medicating children. “It’s kind of a criticism of us tending to over-medicate hyperactive kids who might not need those medications.” She was fired for this act. Surprise!
Read the full story here:
In Connecticut, we have a statute which applies the free speech protection of the 1st Amendment to private employers. It protects against retaliation based on speech on matters of public concern. It does not protect against speech which is purely personal in nature. Since this bumper sticker had nothing to do with her employment and was designed to raise public awareness about the over medication of children, it is probably protected under our law.
We don’t know if Arizona has a law like ours, but we think her union should have a pretty easy time with this one.