Some companies are disciplining or even firing employees for their public comments on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Washington

Multiple businesses and organizations have taken disciplinary actions against employees who made public comments regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. High-profile cases include MSNBC cutting ties with analyst Matthew Dowd, the Nasdaq Stock Exchange firing an employee for violating its anti-violence policy, and the Secret Service placing an agent on leave for expressing negative opinions about Kirk. Airlines such as United, Delta, and American have also disciplined workers for similar reasons.

Legal experts note that in the United States, most workers are employed at will, allowing employers to terminate contracts for almost any reason, except for protected classes. While the First Amendment protects individuals from government censorship, it does not generally shield employees from actions taken by private employers. The distinction between hate speech and incitement to violence is also highlighted, with only the latter subject to legal punishment.

Firings over Charlie Kirk comments spark free speech debate

So, when you see someone celebrating Charlie's murder, call them out in hell. Call their employer. We don't believe in political violence, but we do believe in civility. And there is no civility in the celebration of political assassination. That was Vice President J.D. Vance there hosting the Charlie Kirk Show on Monday, and his comments came after several businesses and organizations took action against employees for their public comments about Kirk's assassination. MSNBC cut ties with analyst Matthew Dowd last Wednesday after he suggested on air that Kirk's rhetoric led to his death. In a statement, executives from parent company Comcast said Dowd made, quote, an unacceptable and insensitive comment about this horrific event. On Friday, the Nasdaq Stock Exchange said it fired an employee over inappropriate social media posts relating to Kirk's death that violated its anti-violence policy. The Secret Service also saying on Facebook that it placed an agent on leave after that person expressed negative opinions about Kirk. The agency says it will, quote, not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. And United Airlines told CBS News that it has disciplined several workers who made public comments about Kirk, citing its zero-tolerance policy for politically motivated violence. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy praised the airline for that decision. Delta and American Airlines have also taken similar action against employees. For more on this, let's bring in CBS News Money Watch reporter Megan Cerullo. And Megan, thank you for joining us to talk about all this. I mean, when you look at company after company making these kinds of decisions, what has this really shown us about the political ramifications professionally when people make these kinds of statements? Companies haven't wasted any time in dismissing or terminating or taking other actions against workers who've spoken out about this hot-button issue. And it reminds us that political speech isn't protected and that in the U.S. most workers are employed at will, which means that either the employee or the employer can terminate the contract at any time for any reason. And so it suggests that employees have to tread pretty lightly when it comes to protecting their jobs. If they don't want to face the kinds of repercussions we've seen a number of workers across different industries face in recent days. Megan, is there a sense that companies are more perhaps sensitive in today's climate? And also, what kind of repercussions could businesses face if an employee is out there in this kind of position saying these kinds of things? Human resources experts say that companies do want to remain apolitical in this day and age. And that means that they don't want to be seen as coming down on either side of politically charged issues. And that extends to their employees. Even we saw some high-profile figures be dismissed, but even unknown workers can easily be traced back to a company through their LinkedIn profiles, and they can be associated with that company. And for businesses, it can do reputational damage. And if a company is seen as being aligned with a particular political party, its opponents may boycott it or decide not to patronize that business. So there are real repercussions for companies who decide to come down on either side of an issue like this one. Yeah, absolutely. Words have ramifications. Megan Cerullo, thank you very much for joining us. Thanks. And, of course, let's bring in CBS News legal contributor and a loyal law school professor, Jessica Levinson. Jessica, thanks so much for joining us to talk about all this. So can companies, I have to ask, legally do this? Can they fire employees based on comments with these controversial issues? I would imagine if they were at-will employees, this is all under that umbrella. So you just did my job for me, which is, yes, if we're talking about private companies and you are an at-will employee, then that means exactly as it sounds like, which is that an employer can fire you at will. Now there are certain protections in place. For instance, we say that even though we have at-will employment, that you can't fire people based on being part of a protected class, for instance. But generally speaking, a private employer finding that they don't like something about a private employee, then, yes, that can proceed, with some caveats, again. Yeah, I think there's been a lot of arguments about the First Amendment and free speech. But when it comes down to being employed by a company, that is a different situation in this circumstance. I want to ask you about another topic also, Jessica. Attorney General Pam Bonnie has been facing some backlash after saying on a podcast that hate speech could be prosecuted under the law. So on X Today, she clarified, saying that hate speech crosses the line into threats of violence as a crime. So how do you differentiate between hate speech and free speech in that kind of context? OK, so if we go back to what we were just talking about, which is private employers, and then we go back to what Pam Bonnie is talking about, because she's a member of the government, the big fork in the road when it comes to the First Amendment is the idea that the First Amendment protects us against the government censoring us. So can a private employer say, I don't like what you said? We're going to fire you? Generally speaking, yes. Can the government do that? Then we have different questions. Can the government come after you for the content of your speech? That's what the First Amendment protects. Now, in terms of what is actually protected, well, not all speech. But hate speech is a protected category. And you have tons of information from justices, tons of opinions where they say it might be vile, it might be disgusting, but that's why we protect it. We're not worried about protecting the nice speech. Now, what she's saying in her comment is she's kind of moving this over to maybe it sounds like a true threat, a true threat or incitement where violence may occur imminently. That is different. And you can punish that type of speech. Hate speech, no punishment in general, incitement, true threats, those are categories where they're so-called prescribable, where there can be some punishment as a result of the content of the speech you utter. Always appreciate the context and analysis that you provide. Jessica Levinson, thank you very much for joining us tonight.

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