A federal court may decide whether Gwinnett County can discipline firefighters for wearing their uniforms to public meetings.
The county prohibits employees from wearing their uniforms when not on duty, but 16 firefighters wore their work attire to a County Commission meeting where they believed the fire department budget would be discussed. Two firefighters said they were later “verbally harassed” and disciplined by their superiors for doing so.
In June, the two filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, saying Gwinnett officials illegally retaliated against them.
Marcus Keegan, the firefighters’ attorney, said the county’s actions discourage government employees from exercising their First Amendment right to express opinions on public issues.
“My clients, just like any other resident of Gwinnett County, have the ability and the right to freely express themselves to their government,” Keegan said. “They did so. They did it politely. They shouldn’t be punished as a result.”