Fired for Flipping-Off the President: Can She Win a Wrongful Termination Lawsuit?

This is a photo of Juli Briskman, 50, who has been fired by her employer because she was caught flipping off President Trump.

She was riding her bicycle on Lowes Island Boulevard after 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 when she found herself sharing a lane with President Trump’s motorcade, which was leaving the Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Va.

She had been employed by Akima L.L.C. This company works with government contractors. She worked as a marketing analyst. Rather proud of her defiance—especially after newspapers in Virginia published her two-wheeled editorial stance— she boasted to the firm’s HR department that she was this brave soul.

They fired her.

Does she have legal recourse? No. Virginia is an employment-at-will state. Private sector employers may fire an employee for any reason, no reason—or as here, a bad reason (if you want to argue that her company would lose government contracts, you’d be making up some facts).

The situation upsets me … until I slow down and think about cases on the other side of the political spectrum.

In Chaplin v. Du Pont Advance Fiber Systems, 293 F.Supp.2d 622 (E.D.Va. 2003), a court ruled that the company was within its rights to fire an employee who violated the rule against displaying Confederate imagery in workplace. In that case Chaplin argued that he was fired for his national origin, i.e., “Confederate Southern-American.” There are other cases involving Klan members who have tried to use religion as a basis to protect their ideology against termination. (Only one case succeeded.)
If you're thinking that Chaplin is different because the expression occurred on company property-- and this did not-- you'd be right on the facts. But employment-at-law in Virginia is very broad. Essentially, an employer can fire you being a Democrat (or a member of the KKK).
[A few states-- Connecticut, for example-- prohibit this type of termination.]
Here’s hoping that someone hires Ms. Briskman soon.