The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a former Lynchburg, Virginia fire captain who claimed he was wrongfully terminated for posting anti-transgender content on social media. The high-profile case involved allegations of First Amendment violations, religious discrimination, and political retaliation.
Martin Misjuns was a fire captain, paramedic, and union representative with the Lynchburg Fire Department. Besides his employment with the city, he was politically active, serving as Ward I Chair for the Lynchburg Republican City Committee.
In January 2021, Misjuns posted a series of cartoons on his public Facebook page using the hashtag “#BidenErasedWomen.” The cartoons mocked transgender women and were widely condemned as transphobic. The posts drew complaints from citizens, including members of the LGBTQ+ group Hill City Pride, who expressed concern about Misjuns’ continued employment as a public safety official.
Following the public outcry, Lynchburg city officials, including the Mayor and City Manager, initiated an investigation that ultimately led to Misjuns’ termination in October 2021. He appealed the decision through the City’s internal grievance process, but the termination was upheld.
Misjuns filed suit alleging six causes of action: breach of contract, First Amendment free speech and free exercise violations (42 USC § 1983), a Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim (§ 1983), a civil rights conspiracy under 42 USC § 1985, and wrongful termination. Here is a link to our coverage of the original filing. The district court dismissed all claims, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed that dismissal.
The Fourth Circuit focused primarily on whether Misjuns had established municipal liability under Monell v. Department of Social Services, which is required for holding a city liable under 42 USC § 1983. The court concluded that Fire Chief Gregory Wormser, who terminated Misjuns, did not possess final policymaking authority, and that Misjuns failed to plead facts showing a widespread or persistent custom of unconstitutional conduct by the City. As a result, the court never reached the merits of Misjuns’ First Amendment claims, nor the all-important Pickering Balancing Test.
The court also rejected Misjuns’ breach of contract claim, holding that the City’s employment policies expressly preserved its status as an at-will employer via disclaimers that prohibited the creation of contractual obligations. The court went so far as to conclude that the City of Lynchburg does not have employment contracts with its employees, and that where a municipality clearly disclaims the existence of an employment contract, at-will employment is not a contract.
The opinion includes a concurring statement from Judge Wilkinson, who emphasized that while Misjuns had a right to express his views, his statements—described as bigoted and divisive—undermined public trust in the Fire Department and justified the City’s disciplinary action.
Captain Misjuns’s recourse is to appeal to the US Supreme Court. Here is a copy of the decision.
