QUESTION
Can my husband sue his employer for using my words against him?
Asked on Oct 29th, 2013 on Labor and Employment - Michigan
More details to this question:
My husband writes for a local newspaper. There is a local political battle going on in our area against which I have been very outspoken, both verbally and on Facebook. Someone took a snapshot of what I wrote and sent it to my husband's employer and said that it proved bias on my husband's part. My husband was removed from the "beat" because of this one complaint. This was ridiculous because my husband has had his stories about this topic edited by his direct supervisor in order to check that there was no bias in it.
1 ANSWER
4 Awards
There is a federal statute that allows a spouse to sue some local or county government employers (City, County, school district, etc.) if they retaliate against him/her based on political or First Amendment protected statements by the spouse. This does not, however, tyipcally apply to a private employer like a newspaper. There might be a state law that provides similar protection but you would need to speak to an employment law attorney in Michigan to see if there is such a law.
Answered on Oct 29th, 2013 at 5:09 PM