Every year, Washington-based Freedom Foundation sends a staff member, dressed as Santa Claus, to hand out leaflets informing state employees of their right to opt out of union fees used to support political causes.
Most state agencies have allowed this. In 2017, however, the Department of Ecology put its foot down and told the Foundation it would not allow leafletting in its building’s lobby.
Undeterred, Freedom Foundation Santa went into Ecology headquarters’ lobby and handed out a leaflet. Within minutes, the department’s human resources director and two security guards approached saying leafletting is prohibited even after Freedom Foundation staff asserted their First Amendment right to leaflet in public areas.
In subsequent back-and-forth between Foundation attorneys, the agency’s HR Director, and two assistant attorneys general, the department insisted its lobby is not a public forum and the Foundation had no First Amendment right to distribute leaflets there.
Weeks earlier, however, the agency allowed the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) to hold a membership drive in its lobby, where the union also promoted political causes such as opposition to right-to-work campaigns.
Not only is pamphlet distribution in its lobby non-disruptive but, by allowing pro-union viewpoints while excluding Freedom Foundation, the department violated the First Amendment’s protection against viewpoint discrimination. On behalf of Freedom Foundation, PLF filed a Federal First Amendment challenge against the Washington State Department of Ecology.
What’s At Stake?
- By kicking Santa-clad Freedom Foundation employees out of its lobby for distributing leaflets, the Washington Department of Ecology engaged in viewpoint discrimination—a blatant First Amendment violation.
- Government speech restrictions cannot suppress expression just because public officials don’t agree with the speaker’s view.
