AACFAMILY & FRIENDS
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ters of public concern.” If the employee is speaking not as a citizen on matters of public concern, but merely as an employee on matters of personal interest or dislike, then generally the employer’s personnel decisions in reaction to the employee’s speech or behavior will not be disturbed by the courts. However, if the employee’s speech or conduct involved legitimate matters of public concern, then the appropriate test becomes balancing “the degree of ‘public concern’ legit- imately held in the particular expression of ideas — as mea- sured by the expression’s content and context — against the degree to which the employee’s conduct is justifiably viewed by the public employer as an actual or threatened disrup- tion of the conduct of government operations for which the employer is responsible.” However, the court cautioned that if there is only a small degree of public concern in the employee’s expressions, the public employer does not have to “tolerate action which he reasonably believe[s] would dis- rupt the office, undermine his authority, or destroy close
Ballot
rently, only special taxes collected can be used to pay off these bonds. Te fifth section of the proposal repeals the requirement that municipal and county bonds have to be sold at public sale. Lastly, the amendment allows for coun- ties, cities, towns and school districts to form compacts for economic development projects. Economic development projects means the land, buildings, furnishings, equipment, facilities, infrastructure and improvements that are required or suitable for the development, retention or expansion of manufacturing, job training facilities, and regional or na- tional corporate headquarters. A lot of what this amendment is attempting to achieve is clearly defining what constitutes tax payer dollars being spent on economic development. Te University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Re-
search and Extension office has released the 2016 voter guide, “Arkansas Ballot Issues.” I have referenced this report multiple times in this article. Te voter guide stated there has been no organized or publicized opposition to issues 1 and 2. Issue 3 was the most controversial of the three; the House of Representatives passed it 70-22, and the Senate passed it 20-5. Te opposition to Issue 3 believes taxpayer dollars should not be spent on private companies, and gov-
working relationships.” Finally, if the dismissal is found to be for mixed motives, both political speech over matters of public concern as well as expressions of personal opinion on personal matters, then the next test is whether the dismissal “would have been made in any event for reasons unrelated to any exercise of protected First Amendment rights.” If so, then the dismissal could be deemed appropriate. Once an employee establishes that their political affiliation or speech was a factor in their termination, the burden shifts to the employer to show that the employee would have been terminated anyway, not- withstanding the employee’s protected conduct or speech. Having and sharing a social media policy as well as an em-
ployee conduct policy with your employees could protect both employer and employee from mishaps that might arise when expectations are not adequately communicated. It is equally important to have your social media and employee conduct policies vetted and approved by your county attor- ney as well as your general liability defense attorney.
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ernment should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. Readers may visit
http://www.uaex.edu/business-commu- nities/voter-education/ArkansasBallotIssuesVoterGuide- 2016-Final.pdf to find out more about Arkansas ballot is- sues. Tis voter guide breaks down each ballot issue in its entirety and gives an unbiased opinion on what each issue would do if enacted by the voters. It also provides the views of the supporters and the opponents. Tis is an excellent resource for all voters across the state. Tere are four other ballot issues to be voted on in November. Tese are all mea- sures that qualified to be on the ballot through the petition process. Editor’s note: all four of the remaining issues are being challenged in court. Issue 4 is an amendment to limit attorney contingency fees and non-economic damages in medical lawsuits. Issue 5 is a proposal to allow casino gambling in Boone,
Washington and Miller counties. You are probably already seeing commercials for this proposal. I anticipate this ballot issue to be one of the most talked about amendments. Issue 6 is the medical marijuana amendment, and Issue 7 is the medical cannabis act.
www.arcounties.org COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016 17
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