Civil Rights Case
Blogger Joe Huffman was fired from his job for his views and advocacy relating to the second amendment. He lost his job at Pacific Northwest National Lab after his superiors spent hours upon hours perusing his website. Joe has documented the incident here.
And he’s now getting press coverage:
A former cyber security researcher has sued for wrongful termination, claiming his former boss at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory didn’t like his pro-gun beliefs and that’s why he was fired.
Joseph Huffman of Moscow, Idaho, alleges in a lawsuit filed in Benton County Superior Court that his supervisor at the federal lab in Richland spent hours examining Huffman’s personal Web site about gun rights issues in the weeks before the firing in June 2005.
January 2nd, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I heard about this guy last year and could believe it. I also work for a company that leans to the left and has had words with me, granted with kids gloves about my views. I usually ingnore them. But this guy wow. I am more than sure he will win if it goes to any level of the federal court.
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I’m not sure what his claim is. Does Idaho have a “First Amendment for the workplace” law? I’d have thought employment was at-will.
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:07 pm
It’s all taking place under Washington State law. I live in Idaho but work in Washington. Federal law gives me no course of action in this case.
It was illegal under Federal Law, 18 USC 241, because two or more people conspired to injure (financially) for the enjoyment of a right or privilege secured under the Constitution or laws of the United States or because of my having so exercised the same. This is a felony. Federal prosecutors declined to prosecute because “they had better things to do” and as an individual I had no “right of private action”.
Under state law I can bring a civil suit for wrongful termination because Washington State (case) law says that you may not be fired for the exercise of “public policy”. The highest authority on public policy is the Washington State Constitution. The Constitution has a very strong “keep and bear arms” provision that clear protects the individual right to keep and bear arms. Also, the “investigators” spent a lot of time and many, many visits to my web page about being a firearms instructor and being an advocate for the carrying of concealed handguns. Washington State has a very strong Right to Carry law. By causing me harm while I was exercising “Public Policy” I may have a case against them. The gun rights angle on public policy has not been tried before except in cases where the terminated employee brought guns onto the employer property. All of those people have lost their cases (competing rights, the property rights of the employer versus the gun rights of the employee). That is not an issue in this case. The employer has nothing but the right to be a bigot in this case.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Sounds like a major “Hail Mary” all around. Good luck, you’re going to need it.