Should You Be Fired For Expressing White Supremacist Views?

The Town Manager in Jackman, Maine was fired recently.  Tom Kawczinsky is a "steward" of a group called "New Albion," which promotes a white supremacist agenda for Northern New England.  Kawczinsky was fired for posts on the group's website, which he moderates, calling Islam "barbarism" and saying that the races should voluntarily segregate, among other things.


While these views are reprehensible, the question still remains -- should Kawczinsky have been fired for expressing such views, outside of work and on his own time?  Doesn't he have a First Amendment right to say things, no matter how stupid, wrong-headed or offensive?  Indeed, such a firing could be unlawful in Connecticut.  Connecticut General Statutes Section 31-51q makes it illegal for an employer to terminate an employee for exercising rights protected by the First Amendment, as long as "such activity does not substantially or materially interfere with the employee's bona fide job performance or the working relationship between the employee and the employer."  Thus, the question is whether espousing white supremacist views materially interfered with Kawczinsky's job performance or the working relationship with the Town.  In this case, I think the answer is "yes," and that the firing was justified.


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