Texas Courts
A former secretary for a Texas judge filed a lawsuit Wednesday that claims she was fired because her boss disagreed with her Facebook posts “disparaging President Donald Trump and other GOP politicians,” the Austin American-Statesman reports. Olga Zuniga, a secretary at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, alleges that Judge Kevin Yeary called her into his office to “counsel” her about her Facebook posts after Trump was elected in 2016 and “several times in 2017.” After posting pieces that were critical of immigration policies supported by Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, she was soon dismissed from her role, the lawsuit alleges. Zuniga says her political statements were posted in “her role as a private citizen,” and that firing her over them was violating “her free-speech rights.” The court has sought to deny Zuniga unemployment benefits, with Yeary telling the Texas Workforce Commission that her posts featured “vulgar and inappropriate language” and “had a distinct political edge and which indicated what appeared to be clear political biases.” The newspaper reports that Zuniga is suing for “unspecified lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages, a monetary award for emotional distress, and reinstatement of her job.”