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His suit alleged that council then issued 11 employment directives, which he claimed placed humiliating restrictions on him, to retaliate against him. He further alleged the borough improperly withheld overtime pay from him and had improperly delayed issuing health insurance benefits. A jury heard the case in April 2008 and awarded Guarnieri $45,358 in compensatory damages and $52,000 in punitive damages. The borough appealed, arguing the evidence did not support the verdict. In February 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the overall verdict entered by a federal jury, but it overturned the panel\u0027s award of $52,000 in punitive damages. The ruling differs from decisions by all 10 other federal circuits and four state supreme courts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EMay state and local government employees sue their employers for retaliation under the First Amendment\u0027s Petition Clause when they petition the government on matters of private concern?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Supreme Court vacated and remanded the lower court order in an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy. \u0022A government employer\u0027s allegedly retaliatory actions against an employee do not give rise to liability under the Petition Clause unless the employee\u0027s petition relates to a matter of public concern,\u0022 Kennedy wrote. \u0022The Third Circuit\u0027s conclusion that the public concern test does not limit public employees\u0027 Petition Clause claims is incorrect.\u0022 Justice Clarence Thomas concurred in the judgment, writing: \u0022Even where a public employee petitions the government in its capacity as sovereign, I would balance the employee\u0027s right to petition the sovereign against the government\u0027s interest as an employer in the effective and efficient management of its internal affairs.\u0022 Meanwhile, Justice Antonin Scalia dissented in part: \u0022I find the proposition that a lawsuit is a constitutionally protected \u0027Petition\u0027 quite doubtful.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":21319,"name":"Daniel R. 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