Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

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Palm Beach County Social Media Discipline Upheld

The US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a trial court decision holding that Palm Beach County Fire Rescue did not violate the First Amendment by disciplining a fire captain over remarks he posted in social media back in 2018. This case is one we have covered previously on several occasions.

Palm Beach County Social Media Policy and Discipline Upheld

A lawsuit challenging the validity of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue’s social media policy, together with the discipline imposed on two captains, has been dismissed for the second time. Captain AJ O’Laughlin and Captain Crystal Little filed suit in state court last year claiming their social media-related discipline should be overturned, and that the social media policy violated the First Amendment.

Curt Varone has over 50 years of fire service experience and 40 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. Besides his law degree, he also has a Masters in Forensic Psychology. His fire service background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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