Rejected Professor Salaita Wants U. of I. Job or Else He'll Sue

[Xithras]

32. Nope, you misread my post.

A private company cannot withdraw an offer based on race because federal laws specifically prohibit them from doing so. While race is federally protected, there is no federal law requiring private companies to honor someone's freedom of speech, or freedom to assemble, or freedom to be secure in their papers. The U.S. Constitution does not apply to private employers except where specific federal laws have been passed to impose them.

The U.S. Constitution does, on the other hand, apply to ALL government agencies. The Constitution was specifically written to apply a set of standards by which the government must operate. That means respecting freedom of speech, treating all persons equally, etc. Because the University of Illinois is a state funded government organization, it must also abide by these standards (we fought a civil war to end the argument as to whether the Constitution applied to the states...and the states righters lost). The University of Illinois is federally prohibited from infringing the constitutional rights of ANYONE.

The UofI has publicly stated that the job offer was withdrawn because of his speech. Under federal law, a government agency cannot penalize someone over their protected speech. The legal question here is simply: Is discrimination tantamount to infringement? If the government chooses to discriminate against you because of your speech, is that the same thing as the government infringing on your right to speak freely?

I honestly don't know that any of us can answer that definitively, and I'm not aware of any court cases that address it. It's a very interesting legal question, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out in the courts.