Public employee speech - Protected?

Public employees free speech rights are limited. Those unaware of that concept need to read up on Garcetti v. Ceballos, and review subsequent developments, particularly case law in the Fifth Circuit. But what happens when an employee is not disciplined for provocative if not outrageous speech, as in this case where an assistant attorney general takes out after a gay college student in a blog. Good synopsis of the purported events from Workplace Prof Blog is here. Isn't the nexus between the AAG's job and allegations of what may be criminal misconduct by the college student sufficient to make discipline for the remarks appropriate under Garcetti? Probably, but there has been no discipline so far. So what happens if another AAG (or some other public sector employee)speaks out in support of the college student, or in opposition to the issues raised by the first AAG, and is disciplined? Does Garcetti prevent that public employee from even getting to the Pickering test requiring a justification for content based distinctions?

Public officials enjoined from dissin' UAW

A state court in Kentucky has issued a permanent injunction barring local officials from interference in any unionization efforts that may take place in the county in the future. A mayor, another county official and the Boyle County Industrial Foundation wrote a letter encouraging employees of a company in bankruptcy to reject a United Auto Worker's [UAW] attempt to organize them. According to this news report, the culprits wrote a letter to employees claiming that unions might cause a company to be unprofitable, and employees might lose their jobs if the union made the company unprofitable. Thats pretty pedestrian stuff. Employers have defended similar comments in NLRB proceedings. The union argued the conduct violated the UAW and its supporters right to freedom of speech and association under the Kentucky Constitution. The court found the statements constituted a threat justifying an injunction. Wow! An ironic result. Hope there is a written opinion.