Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 16, 1995 TAG: 9508160100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Town Attorney Frank Terwilliger recommended the step because of interpretations on workplace speech issues by federal Judge Jackson Kiser in a lawsuit involving the Franklin County school system.
Councilman Roy D'Ardenne, chairman of the Human Resources Committee, which recommended the policy, pointed out that it had been adopted in response to a town workplace problem. The problem resolved itself, he said, but the committee had instructed Terwilliger to draw up a policy to prevent such problems.
The policy was prompted by complaints from town employees about words on a lapel pin worn by another employee.
``We did not push anything down anybody's throat. We reviewed it for a month and a half,'' D'Ardenne said, and Terwilliger explained the policy to town employees in two meetings before it was adopted. D'Ardenne said no employee had complained about it before adoption.
Several civil liberties organizations argued that the policy went too far in restricting employee rights.
Councilman John Stone said it had been a learning experience for him. He had said earlier that he did not fully comprehend its ramifications when he voted for it.
The ongoing Franklin County lawsuit involves remarks made by a teacher about interracial dating in response to questions from students during study hall. The teacher was forced to resign. She is suing the School Board, claiming her constitutional rights were violated.
Terwilliger said that Kiser's written opinion on the School Board's request to dismiss the suit, issued one day after Pulaski adopted its policy July 18, ``appears to make it difficult for a public employer to categorize speech as potentially disruptive in the absence of actual disruption.''
Terwilliger said the town policy ``restricts where debate or discussions should take place, and not the content. However, this opinion found that the choice of forum did not alter his conclusion.''
Kiser refused to dismiss the school suit, leaving it up to a jury to determine the facts of the case.
``Since there is some overlap in the issues involved in that case and our policy, I am concerned that, if a challenge was brought in federal court to our policy, the process of defending it would be cost-prohibitive even if the town was successful,'' Terwilliger said.
``So my recommendation is that Town Council at this time rescind its policy and put it back into committee, and watch this case as it progresses,'' he said. ``If any incidents take place while the matter is in committee, the town administration would have to handle them on a case-by-case basis utilizing existing procedures as much as possible for guidance,'' he said.
by CNB