Washington, DC — A new lawsuit asserts First Amendment rights for federal employees just as the Trump administration and its unelected head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have embarked on an unprecedented attack on federal workers’ free speech rights.

The suit, filed today March 12, 2025, by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), asserts that a federal agency wrongfully deprived a federal employee of several of her most valued rights: the right to speak publicly on matters of public concern, the right to petition her government for redress of grievances, and the right to associate with like-minded citizens to advance mutually shared social and political goals.

The case arose during the Biden administration, when a federal employee for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Carolyn McConnell, was investigated for engaging in environmental advocacy work on behalf of a non-profit environmental group on her personal time. The NLRB claimed that she likely violated a federal criminal law (18 U.S.C. § 205) which covers conflicts of interest. McConnell’s advocacy was completely unrelated to her work for the NLRB, yet government officials nonetheless referred the case for criminal prosecution.

Twenty-five years ago, the D.C. Circuit Court in Jeffrey Van Ee v. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that the law could not be read so broadly as to infringe on federal employee free speech rights. This lawsuit takes on added significance given the Trump administration’s attacks on federal employees and their blatant attempts to intimidate federal workers from speaking out.

“Federal employees do not forfeit their rights to free speech, freedom of association, and the ability to petition the government,” declared PEER Litigation and Policy Attorney Colleen Teubner Zimmerman, who filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for D.C. “No government should be able impose criminal sanctions on a federal employee on the basis of their private views.”

Zimmerman noted, “This case has broad implications for all federal employees. If the attempted silencing of Ms. McConnell is not challenged, it will give license to the current administration to pursue similar prosecutions of other federal employees. This is a dangerous precedent with the current administration’s assault on the rights of federal workers. That is why PEER has filed this lawsuit and is determined to fight for the First Amendment rights of all federal employees.”

“I did not surrender my rights as a citizen when I entered federal service,” said Ms. McConnell. “I have the right to comment on matters of public concern which have nothing whatsoever to do with my job.”

###

Read the PEER lawsuit

See the Seattle Times op-ed

Look at the NLRB IG report

View the Letter of Counseling

Examine 18 U.S.C. § 205

View Previous Court Ruling in Jeffrey Van Ee v. Environmental Protection Agency