Freedom of speech is a human right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Yet, in the worlds of public and private employment, employers have some limited rights with regard to the things their employees can say. These generally differ for public and private employees.

The main basis for this difference is the fact that public employees offer their services to the Government, which in turn is to act in the interest of the public. Hence, public employees who speak out in the interest of the public tend to be offered a relative amount of freedom when it comes to what they are allowed to say in and about the workplace (Hudson, 2002).

Public employers include the police, education institutions, and city government institutions. Employees can work at the federal, state, or local government level. According to Hudson (2002), public employees do not have freedom to criticize governments for...
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