7th Circuit upholds firing of Chicago firefighter over racist Facebook posts, ruling the city's interest…

Record source: CourtListener

In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-2908 SAM INENDINO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANNETTE NANCE-HOLT, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 1:22-cv-04982 — Matthew F. Kennelly, Judge. ____________________ ARGUED SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 — DECIDED JULY 16, 2026 ____________________ Before RIPPLE, LEE, and PRYOR, Circuit Judges. LEE, Circuit Judge. For sixteen years, Sam Inendino worked as a firefighter for the Chicago Fire Department (“CFD”). He was fired following a workplace investigation into his public Facebook account, which contained several racially charged and offensive posts. Inendino sued Fire Commissioner An- nette Nance-Holt, CFD Assistant Commissioner of Labor Re- lations Brian Casey, and the City of Chicago (we will refer to them collectively as “the City”) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleg- 2 No. 24-2908 ing that the City’s actions violated his First Amendment rights. The district court granted the City’s motion for sum- mary judgment, holding that Inendino’s Facebook posts were not protected under the First Amendment because they did not touch on matters of public concern. Alternatively, the dis- trict court held that, even if the posts touch on matters of pub- lic concern, the City’s interest in efficiency and maintaining the public trust outweighed Inendino’s free speech interest under the balancing test articulated in Pickering v. Board of Ed- ucation of Township High School District 205, Will County, Illi- nois, 391 U.S. 563, 568 (1968). Although the district court erred in its analysis of whether Inendino’s posts touched on matters of public concern, we agree that the City nevertheless prevails under Pickering and affirm. I Background A. Inendino’s Employment Inendino worked as a firefighter and emergency medical technician (“EMT”) with the CFD from May 2005 to June 2021. He typically worked out of Engine 54 in Englewood, a pre- dominantly Black neighborhood in Chicago, and frequently interacted with the public. As an EMT, he also responded to medical calls and engaged directly with patients. Like many, Inendino had a Facebook page. During the rel- evant period, his Facebook page was public, which means that any member of the public could view its content. Inendino prominently identified himself as a CFD fire- fighter on his Facebook page. His profile picture depicted him No. 24-2908 3 sitting on the back of a fire truck with his son wearing fire- fighter gear. His profile picture was visible to anyone who vis- ited his Facebook page and appeared next to every Facebook comment or post he made. His Facebook page also contained numerous other photographs indicating that he was a CFD firefighter. Inendino did not post a disclaimer on his Facebook page stating that his posts reflected solely his views and were not those of CFD. Below is a screenshot of Inendino’s Face- book page at the time: Dkt. 132-3 at 3. On October 29, 2019, the Chicago Office of Inspector Gen- eral (“OIG”) received a complaint from a member of the pub- lic concerning a Facebook comment made by Inendino in which he told individuals to “take your ass back over the bor- der where ya belong … gotta go I have a real job.” Dkt. 134 ¶ 74. Two days later, OIG received a second complaint from a different member of the public regarding another comment Inendino posted on Facebook. The complainant had posted 4 No. 24-2908 on Facebook a video her daughter had filmed showing a Chi- cago Police Department lieutenant purportedly assaulting her 16-year-old son. Inendino posted a comment on the video, stating that Inendino had to “go to work to pay for all your scumbag kids that you welfare fucks keep having.” Id. In response to the complaints, OIG investigated Inen- dino’s Facebook page and prepared a twenty-seven-page summary report of its findings (“OIG Report”). After discuss- ing thirteen of Inendino’s Facebook posts made between April and October 2020, the OIG Report found that the posts tar- geted Black and Asian Americans, both groups that CFD serves. It also highlighted Inendino’s assignment in Eng- lewood, a predominantly Black neighborhood and the City’s “interest in ensuring trust in its services by its citizens.” Dkt. 123-1 at 28. The OIG Report concluded: Inendino’s racist and offensive Facebook posts show a contempt for the residents of the community he serves. Any minority resident of the City, who was exposed to the content on Inendino’s public Facebook page, could reasonably question whether he would deliver the ap- propriate level of care were they to need his services as an EMT. Id. at 28–29. The report ultimately recommended that the City termi- nate Inendino’s employment. On May 4, 2021, after reviewing the report, CFD Assistant Commissioner of Labor Relations Brian Casey recommended to Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt that she adopt the recommendation. No. 24-2908 5 The next day, Commissioner Nance-Holt informed the In- spector General that she agreed with the recommendation to fire Inendino. On June 7, 2021, Inendino was notified that his employment was terminated effective June 9, 2021. In the ter- mination letter, the City informed him that his firing was pur- suant to City of Chicago Personnel Rule XVIII, Section 2.01 of CFD’s Code of Professional Conduct, Social Media/Social Networking Policy General Order 17-001, and General Order 20-002. 1 1 City of Chicago Personnel Rule XVIII provides that an employee will be disciplined and potentially discharged for “[d]iscourteous treatment, including verbal abuse, of any … member of the public,” “[p]rovoking or inciting another employee or member of the public to engage in such con- duct,” or “[v]iolating any departmental regulations, rules, or procedures.” Dkt. 123-13 at 5, 7. Section 2.01 of CFD’s Code of Professional Conduct provides that an employee shall be disciplined and potentially discharged for “[c]onduct in violation of the Code of Professional Conduct,” which includes viola- tion of Personnel Code Rule XVIII. Dkt. 123-14 at 9. Social Media/Social Networking Policy General Order 17-001, which was effective until mid-September 2020, provides that “[i]nappropriate re- marks [on social media] will not be tolerated and may result in discipli- nary action up to and including termination.” Dkt. 123-15 at 2. The Order prohibits “any content … that can be deemed offensive” such as offensive content “based on race, ethnic heritage, national origin, sex, … housing status, [or] religion.” Id. at 3. General Order 20-002, which came into effect after Order 17-001, re- quires that when posting online, a CFD employee “must work hard to gain the trust and confidence of the community they serve. … [and] give thoughtful consideration to their actions to avoid damaging the reputa- tion and trust the [CFD] has with the community.” Dkt. 123-16 at 2. To this end, an employee may “express themselves as private citizens in matters 6 No. 24-2908 Inendino subsequently arbitrated a grievance challenging his dismissal as permitted by his union’s collective bargaining agreement. On May 13, 2022, the arbitrator upheld the dismis- sal, finding just cause for the termination. B. Proceedings Below Inendino sued

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