Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) issued an executive order earlier this year that may be interpreted as a gag on government employees, threatening their free speech rights, according to a report from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
According to the executive order, state employees are prohibited from engaging in anything considered “scandalous” or “disgraceful.”
While the executive order says that Shapiro’s administration “supports free speech,” it also states that no “employee, appointee, or official of the Executive Branch of the Commonwealth shall engage in scandalous or disgraceful conduct, or any other behavior, on or off duty, which may bring the service of the Commonwealth into disrepute.”
FIRE described the order as an “impossibly vague restriction effectively prohibiting wide swaths of speech protected by the First Amendment.”
Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of public advocacy said, “Free speech is the keystone of our democracy, and today it’s threatened in the Keystone State by Governor Shapiro. No elected official can slap a gag order like this on state workers. This is an abuse of power, and we’re looking forward to challenging this flagrant government overstep in court.”
FIRE explained that Secretary of the Office of Administration Neil Weaver wrote in an email that the executive order comes as the “need for moral clarity” is great. The email described pervasive “hate speech” within the state.
“Therefore, the Governor has amended the Code of Conduct to reinforce the standards of personal conduct we all must adhere to: that no employee, appointee, or official of the Executive Branch of the Commonwealth shall engage in scandalous or disgraceful conduct, or any other behavior, on or off duty, which may bring the service of the Commonwealth into disrepute,” the email says.
FIRE sent a letter to the governor’s office in August, raising questions regarding the executive order, but did not hear back.
The organization is now looking to challenge the executive order in court if it does not hear back from the state.
“Last time we checked, Pennsylvania was still part of the USA and bound by the Constitution, so muzzling personal speech won’t fly,” FIRE wrote on X, adding, “That’s why FIRE intends to challenge this gag order in court if Gov Shapiro doesn’t amend it soon. If you’re a Pennsylvania worker affected by this gag order, please reach out so we can defend your free speech rights!”
