Read this post: Freedom of speech is a very important provision of the US Constitution.Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan once said, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable." The First Amendment was initially created to prevent the government from punishing media outlets that expressed their opinion on government performance.The amendment covers hateful and offensive speech; the theory is that regardless of how egregious someone's words may be they should be allowed to voice their opinions. As a result, the amendment protects the rights of everyone and not just those whose speech is considered favorable by the authorities.

While the First Amendment is intended to support free speech, there are instances where its application is limited.For example, private sector employees are not allowed to express political views that are controversial, use profanities, share jokes, make comments that are considered rude or even divulge confidential information about their employers. There are laws that require employers to provide a safe and comfortable work environment so any speech that can be considered discrimination or harassment is strictly forbidden. This is where the First Amendment does not supersede other laws.In fact, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides guidelines on proper workplace behavior for employers to share with their employees.

While employees are allowed to express themselves outside of the workplace, in recent times we have seen where speech and actions unrelated to work have resulted in persons being terminated. Employers are able to use the at-will provisions allowed by states across the country as reason for termination. I think at-will provides a loophole for employers to dismiss employees whose views or behaviors are considered disagreeable.

I have learned that even though the First Amendment to the US Constitution provides free speech protection, there are certain instances where this protection cannot be assured because of other laws.This means there are limits to the application of the amendment so employees should be careful how they express their opinions. I also learned that this restriction does not apply to public employees.

QUESTION : state whether you agree or disagree with the bases used to justify your classmate's opinion, and explain why.

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