Indianapolis Firefighter Disciplined for Social Media Activities Sues

An Indianapolis battalion chief who was suspended for 24 hours for violating the department’s social media policy, has filed suit alleging gender discrimination, violation of her First Amendment rights, and retaliation. Battalion Chief Candace Ashby filed suit yesterday in US District Court for the District of Indiana.

Chief Ashby, an 18-year veteran, claims she maintained a support group for firefighters on Facebook. She was charged with insubordination in addition to violating the department’s social media policy. As explained in the complaint:

• ASHBY, for her part, has been a vocal critic of the social media policy because it is so broadly written and unequally applied that it is functionally unclear what speech and activity is prohibited and what is allowable.
• Over the years, IFD has threatened social media violations against ASHBY to restrain and control her speech on social media and off duty.
• This all came to a head on about January 3, 2024, when IFD Chief Henry Martin discovered ASHBY was operating a private Facebook support group for firefighters.
• IFD Chief Martin told ASHBY that this is a violation of the social media policy and to delete the private Facebook group, which she did.
• On about February 2, 2024, IFD Chief Martin issued a 24-hour suspension as discipline against ASHBY, finding that she was insubordinate in making a final post to close the group, that she violated the Indiana Whistleblower Act because she had knowledge that someone in her private facebook group shared information with IFD Administration, and that her creation of a private Facebook page violates the IFD social media policy.
• The 24-hour suspension is a permanent record in ASHBY’s personnel file and prevents ASHBY from advancing in her career.
• Similarly situated IFD employees who are men are not disciplined for creating social media pages and/or are not disciplined as harshly.
• IFD failed to follow the chain of command to discipline ASHBY because of her gender as a woman and because she complained of gender discrimination.
• IFD failed to give ASHBY progressive discipline that it gives to other employees because of her gender as a woman and because she complained of gender discrimination.
• IFD accused ASHBY of violating the Indiana Whistleblower Act despite its inapplicability because of her gender as a woman and because she complained of gender discrimination.
• IFD accused ASHBY of multiple social media policy violations because of her gender as a woman and because she complained of gender discrimination.
• IFD punished ASHBY with unreasonable consequences because of her gender and because she complained of gender discrimination.
• IFD’s social media policy states: “Firefighters shall not engage in social media.”
• IFD’s social media policy defines “social media” in such a way that it essentially encompasses the entire internet.
• Strictly applied as written, IFD’s social media policy broadly prevents ASHBY and other firefighters from ever engaging in free speech and assembly online.
• IFD’s social media policy gives broad discretion to a small group of IFD actors who may review ASHBY’s speech with no objective criteria and issue a violation.
• IFD’s social media policy includes a prior restraint on ASHBY’s speech, the speech of her colleagues, and the speech of any civilian with her.
• IFD’s social media policy also asserts ownership over ASHBY’s photographs and videos without payment as a form of punishment for engaging in her first amendment rights, which it has done in the past.
• IFD’s social media policy requires ASHBY to “maintain a level of professionalism” in her speech, both on and off duty, to control the content of her speech in all areas of her life.
• IFD’s social media policy targets the content of ASHBY’s speech and restrains it with undefined terms that are open to multiple interpretations and are overbroad, vague, ambiguous, and confusing.
• For years, IFD has used its social media policy to police ASHBY’s online presence and unreasonably withhold permission for first amendment activity.

A copy of the complaint is provided below. For those who may need help in drafting a social media policy that respects firefighters’ First Amendment Rights as well as the right to engage in concerted activities, consider subscribing to our MUST HAVE POLICIES, and/or attend my upcoming webinar Leadership Solutions to Firefighter Social Media Problems, November 6, 2024 at 1PM Eastern.