Bloomberg Law
Feb. 12, 2018, 2:53 PM UTC

Firing Cop for Off-Duty Romance Unconstitutional, Court Says

Lawrence E. Dubé

A police officer can proceed to trial on her claim a California police department violated her constitutional right to privacy by firing her for having an off-duty affair with a fellow officer.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stood by the court’s 1983 ruling that a public employer can’t take adverse action on the basis of an employee’s private sexual conduct unless it demonstrates that the conduct affected the worker’s job performance.

The decision is an important affirmation of the off-duty rights of employees—"rights that are daily being eroded by employers and state ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn About Bloomberg Law

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.