First responders are often called upon to serve their communities in highly visible, high-stress roles. Fire and EMS professionals have a front seat to the consequences of the more socially and politically charged environment we operate in today.
Alongside the professional and clinical responsibilities of the job, first responders, like all employees, also must navigate the boundaries of their rights to free expression. This is especially true in an era where personal opinions, frustrations and experiences are frequently shared on social media.
| HOT TOPIC: First responders face investigations over social posts about Charlie Kirk’s killing
Many first responder training and workplace orientation programs dedicate nearly all their time to teaching clinical and operational skills. While these are important, they are only part of the dynamic set of skills that equip our team to care for the patients and the communities we serve.
Fire and EMS professionals must remember, a super-majority of the population never actually utilize our services, but are beneficiaries of our readiness to serve. This means, their confidence in our ability to care for them in their time of need is paramount and cannot be tarnished or diminished by divisive or hateful speech.
One of the most common complaints I hear from first responders is that they want to be recognized as a professional. Yet, in my 36 years of experience as an EMT, firefighter, EMS executive, HR consultant or employment attorney, I’ve found we rarely discipline or terminate employees for clinical or operational errors. In fact, terminations for these errors are rare. Most of the remediation fire/EMS organizations perform is tied to the non-clinical/operational aspects of the profession. I encourage first responders, at all levels, to recognize that professionalism is who you are both on and off duty.
Repeatedly, fire and EMS professionals fail to understand that their personal social media posts can result in workplace discipline, including termination. We have seen this over the last several years through the civil unrest following the Black Lives Matter movement, numerous presidential elections, and most recently, following the death of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Sept. 10, 2025. It is clear that our training and onboarding programs need to be updated to include employee off-duty conduct, including social media use.
The First Amendment
There is a common belief that the U.S. Constitution provides all citizens a freedom of speech. This is true. However, the First Amendment Right to Free Speech is not absolute. There are several categories of speech that are not protected or are “less than protected” under the Constitution. These include speech intended to incite imminent lawlessness; threating, intimidating or harassing speech; obscenity; defamation; and fraudulent or deceptive speech.
Even protected speech can be regulated in certain circumstances depending upon how, when and where the speech occurs. The most used example of this is a person yelling “fire” or “bomb” in a crowded movie theater or marketplace where they have no good faith belief that the stated threat exists. I assure you; you can be both civilly and criminally liable for those actions.
Let’s examine how free speech rights apply to public safety employees, both in the workplace and online, and what agencies and providers should know to balance personal freedoms with organizational and professional integrity.
1. Constitutional protections: Public vs. private employers
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects individuals from government restrictions on speech. For fire and EMS personnel, this protection depends on whether the employer is a public entity (such as a municipal fire department or county EMS service) or a private EMS organization.
- Public sector personnel. Speech may be protected when it involves matters of public concern (e.g., public safety funding, working conditions, patient care system design). However, courts apply a balancing test: the employee’s right to speak as a citizen must be weighed against the employer’s interest in maintaining workplace efficiency, public trust and discipline.
- Private sector personnel. The First Amendment generally does not apply to private employers. Instead, employee speech protections come from other sources, such as the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), whistleblower statutes or anti-retaliation provisions in employment workplace regulations.
2. Social media speech and employment consequences
Social media has blurred the line between personal and professional speech. Posts made on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or TikTok, even outside working hours, can have workplace consequences. Often, employees believe that their activity on social media is distinct from their professional life. However, commonly, a first responder’s “personal” social media page is covered with work-related content and pictures. For example, EMTs, paramedics and firefighters often post pictures of themselves in uniform or in an agency vehicle. Common risks include:
- Patient privacy violations. Posting identifiable information or images of patients is prohibited under HIPAA and state privacy laws, and violations may result in termination, license discipline, or civil penalties.
- Damage to employer reputation. Even personal opinions, if associated with an employer, can be grounds for discipline if they undermine public trust or violate agency policy. Possible exceptions to this are whistleblower or union/labor actions covered by the NLRA.
- Harassment or discriminatory content. Posts that involve discriminatory remarks, threats or harassment toward colleagues or the public may create liability under anti-discrimination and harassment laws. In particular, the ACA Section 1557, non-discriminatory provisions are intended to ensure that all individuals have access to care and can actively participate in their care. Hate or divisive speech can interfere with first responder’s ability to gain the public or patient’s trust in their role as the caregiver to the patient and their community.
- Damage to professional reputation. First responders are essential to the nation’s healthcare system and a critical piece of the fabric of every community. Being proficient in clinical and operational skills is important. The most skilled or trained first responder cannot meaningfully care for a patient or a community member if the they do not trust and feel comfortable with the professionals caring for them.
This issue has been addressed several times over the years. The quote I believe most appropriately captures this aspect of the freedom of speech issue was addressed by in an article authored by EMS attorney David Givot titled, “EMS providers are held to a higher standard, which includes social media.”
Givot said,“EMS providers are perhaps the most human of humans, but they, like no other humans, cannot allow their objectivity to be clouded by political, social, or religious beliefs. The public trust is the best currency EMS has to accomplish what is expected: it is a currency that cannot afford to be gambled away.”
3. Labor and collective action protections
The National Labor Relations Act protects both unionized and non-unionized employees when they engage in “concerted activity” related to workplace conditions (e.g., pay, safety, scheduling). For example, EMS providers discussing unsafe ambulance staffing on a private Facebook group may be engaging in protected activity. However, venting about a supervisor, coworker or patient in purely personal terms may not be protected.
4. Whistleblower and retaliation protections
First responders may also be protected when their speech involves reporting unlawful practices, patient safety concerns or regulatory violations. State and federal whistleblower laws, as well as OSHA protections, prevent employers from retaliating against employees who raise legitimate compliance or safety issues.
5. State law protections
There are several states that have enacted laws that protect certain off-duty employee conduct. These laws vary but typically address participation in certain off duty political activities or off-duty cannabis use in states where cannabis has been legalized. However, due to the safety sensitive nature of work that first responders perform, many employers may still be able regulate an employee’s cannabis use, even if it is off duty.
Off-duty political activity generally refers to employees engaging in political speech, association, campaigning, lawful protests or similar actions. In my experience, this is widely misunderstood by employees who rely on internet “research” which is ill performed and informed. This is an incredibly legally complex issue and demands an educated legal analysis.
Even in states with protections, these laws are not unlimited. Common limitations include:
- Lawfulness. The off-duty political activity itself must be lawful. Illegal activity is not protected.
- Employer interests/conflict of interest. Employers may sometimes show a reasonable, rational connection between the off-duty behavior or speech and the workplace (e.g., undermining business operations, violating confidentiality, creating risk). This could include an undermining of the public’s trust in the EMS system/provider or firefighter/department.
- Working hours/premises. Speech during work hours or on work property is often more regulable. Employers often have more leeway to restrict or discipline political activity in the workplace itself.
- Use of employer resources. Using employer equipment, systems or time may remove protection.
- Public sector vs. private sector. Public employees often have stronger constitutional protections (First Amendment), but also more regulatory constraints. Private sector protections rely mostly on state statutes; the majority of states do not protect political speech/activities off duty.
Protection varies substantially from state to state, and employers and employees should review the laws in the state where they live and operate.
6. Best practices for fire/EMS agencies
To balance free speech rights with organizational needs, EMS agencies should:
- Develop clear policies: Social media, confidentiality and workplace conduct policies should be transparent, consistently applied, and regularly communicated and updated. We always recommend agencies have their policies reviewed by counsel annually.
- Provide training. Regular education on HIPAA, social media risks and professional conduct helps prevent inadvertent violations. This should occur at hire, annually and following any organizational incident. I strongly recommend regular reminders to your team.
- Encourage reporting. Create safe channels for employees to raise concerns internally without fear of retaliation.
- Apply discipline consistently. Enforcement of policies should be fair and uniform to avoid claims of selective discipline.
Providing context to free speech
First responders, like all workers, have important rights of speech, but those rights are not unlimited. The context of the employer (public vs. private), the subject of the speech (personal gripe vs. public concern) and the platform used (in person vs. online) all shape whether expression is protected. By understanding these boundaries, fire and EMS professionals can better protect themselves, and departments/agencies can foster a culture that respects both individual rights and the critical mission of first responders.
