First Amendment Claims

First Amendment claims are brought against government employees and agencies alleging the violation of the claimant's First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and/or freedom of association under the U.S. Constitution. Over the past few years, these claims have been increasingly filed by employees against their governmental agency employers, alleging that the employee has suffered retaliation by the governmental employer as a result of the employee speaking out on a matter of public concern or because of the employee's affiliation with a union, political party, or other federally protected association.