Blogs

A college professor in McKinney, Texas, sued the community college where he worked for 15 years because his contract wasn’t renewed. Phillips v. Collin Community College District was filed in the Eastern District of Texas in March 2022. Because Collin College is a public sector employer, employees have free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution. The professor, Michael Phillips, believed his contract ended because of statements he made that were critical of Collin College.  This part of his claim will be litigated in court, where all the facts can be heard by either a judge or jury.   

Phillips had also argued that two policies were a prior restraint on his free speech rights, meaning that by merely having the policies, the college was allegedly inhibiting his free speech. The first was the college’s Code of Professional Ethics, which requires employees to act in a manner that brings credit to the college when engaging in public affairs. The college had a standing committee and a written policy that if faculty or support staff disagreed with the college's policies or procedures, they needed to bring the concern to the standing committee. The policy also required that anyone speaking publicly make clear that they weren’t an official spokesperson for the district.  

On November 4, 2023, the court dismissed the request for summary judgment on the argument of prior restraint and found instead that there would need to be testimony on how the policies were applied in an unconstitutional manner for Phillips to be successful.   

Phillips also argued that the code of conduct policy had statements from both the dean of academic affairs and the college president, and those statements were not the same. The differences, he argued, created cross-departmental confusion, and because of this, they were so vague as to be unconstitutional. The court disagreed, finding that the differences in language weren’t enough to create the necessary standard for unconstitutional vagueness.  

A finding that the policies themselves restrained free speech rights would have been significant for employers. Instead, the remaining issues will be litigated as the case moves forward. Any issues with how the policies were applied will be related to the facts of the case. If you have questions about free speech issues in your public sector workplace that involve a particular employee and you have a Consulting or Enterprise membership, please contact Employers Council for assistance.