Pickering balancing test
E666868
The Pickering balancing test is a legal standard used by U.S. courts to weigh a public employee’s free speech rights against the government employer’s interest in maintaining efficient and effective public services.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
First Amendment test
ⓘ
constitutional law doctrine ⓘ legal standard ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
discipline, termination, or adverse action against public employees for speech
ⓘ
government employers ⓘ public employees ⓘ |
| appliesWhen | a public employee speaks as a citizen on matters of public concern ⓘ |
| balances |
government employer interest in effective public services
ⓘ
government employer interest in efficiency ⓘ public employee free speech rights ⓘ |
| basedOn | First Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| citation | Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| developedBy | Justice Thurgood Marshall (majority opinion in Pickering) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom |
intermediate scrutiny
ⓘ
rational basis review ⓘ strict scrutiny ⓘ |
| doesNotApplyWhen |
employee speaks pursuant to official duties
ⓘ
speech is purely private concern ⓘ |
| field |
constitutional law
ⓘ
labor and employment law ⓘ |
| focusesOn |
role of government as employer rather than sovereign
ⓘ
status of speaker as public employee ⓘ |
| influences |
lower federal court decisions on public employee speech
ⓘ
state court decisions on public employee speech ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal courts of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalSystem | United States law ⓘ |
| limits | government employer’s ability to discipline employees for protected speech ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedInCase | Pickering v. Board of Education NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedInCourt | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedInYear | 1968 ⓘ |
| partOf |
public employee First Amendment jurisprudence
ⓘ
public employment law ⓘ |
| protects | speech on matters of public concern by public employees ⓘ |
| relatedDoctrine |
Connick v. Myers
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Garcetti v. Ceballos NERFINISHED ⓘ Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| requiresCourtToConsider |
disruption caused to government operations
ⓘ
impact of speech on close working relationships requiring loyalty and confidence ⓘ impact of speech on harmony among coworkers ⓘ impact of speech on workplace discipline ⓘ time, place, and manner of the speech ⓘ value of employee speech to public debate ⓘ whether speech undermines mission of public agency ⓘ whether speech was knowingly or recklessly false ⓘ |
| standardOfReview | balancing test ⓘ |
| usedFor |
assessing constitutionality of public employee discipline for speech
ⓘ
determining when public employee speech is protected ⓘ public employee speech cases ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.