ABSTRACT
In Rankin v. McPherson, 483 US 378 (1987), the US Supreme Court held that the First Amendment protected a public employee from being fired for speech her employer deemed to be offensive. Although the First Amendment to the US Constitution broadly provides for a right to free speech. Applying the standards set out in Pickering and Connick, the Supreme Court in Rankin determined that the comment was a matter of public concern, since it was made during a conversation on President Reagan's policies. However, the employee's rights must be balanced against the employer's interests in fulfilling the obligation to provide efficient public services, and the speech must be of appropriate public concern to be protected. The public employee was improperly fired because of the content of her speech, and as a consequence she was entitled to reinstatement.
