United States: Women Press Freedom Celebrates Brittany Hailer’s Landmark Legal Victory Against Gag Orders
Settlement reached in case challenging restrictions on public employees speaking to press
Location: United States, Pittsburg
Date: May 23, 2024
Women Press Freedom applauds the recent settlement in a groundbreaking lawsuit brought by investigative journalist Brittany Hailer against Allegheny County Jail. This resolution concludes an important legal battle challenging the jail's restrictive policies that prohibited staff from engaging with the media without prior approval, stifling transparency and accountability. This settlement, the first of its kind initiated by a journalist, marks a significant victory for press freedom and the First Amendment rights. We commend Hailer for her courage and tenacity in pursuing this case and extend gratitude to her attorneys for their commitment to press freedom. This settlement sets a powerful precedent, inspiring journalists across the nation to challenge gag orders and advocate for their constitutional rights.
On May 23, 2024, reporter Brittany Hailer secured a settlement against the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh over regulations prohibiting staff from engaging with the media or expressing views on social media platforms.
The breakthrough agreement was reached in April after extensive negotiations. It acknowledges that Allegheny County employees and contractors "have constitutional rights to speak on matters of public concern when acting as private citizens and not purporting to represent the view of the [Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections]."
This aligns with past rulings deeming such restrictions unconstitutional when challenged by employees and their unions.
In August 2023, investigative journalist Brittany Hailer initiated legal action against Allegheny County Jail. Hailer's decision to take legal action was prompted by her investigative reporting, which unearthed troubling issues within Allegheny County Jail. Her inquiries into a series of deaths at the jail dating back to April 2020 revealed circumstances that remained unclear. Her efforts to report were hindered by restrictions placed upon jail employees who were unable to speak to her without prior approval from the administration.
This lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind, confronts a broader trend of rising gag orders in public agencies across the United States, which limit journalists' access and impede investigative reporting. Gag restrictions, often referred to as "censorship by PIO," have become increasingly prevalent in the United States. Federal agencies require employees to redirect reporters to their public information offices (PIO), rather than engaging with them directly.
Despite the constitutional right of public employees to speak about work-related matters without needing permission from their employers, these gag orders have become more common and burdensome over time.
In a similar case, in December 2023, The Reporter, a local newspaper in Delaware County, New York, sued the Delaware County Board of Supervisors over a "gag order" imposed on county employees, preventing them from speaking to the paper. The newspaper alleges this was in response to its critical coverage of the board's activities. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of such orders, arguing they violate both the First Amendment rights of the journalists and the sources they seek to interview.
These legal battles highlight concerns about the erosion of transparency and accountability when government entities impose gag orders on journalists and their sources.
Women Press Freedom applauds Brittany Hailer's legal efforts and hopes her lawsuit will prompt similar challenges to fight against widespread censorship within public agencies in the United States.
Women Press Freedom is an initiative by The Coalition For Women In Journalism
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WPF strongly condemns the forceful expulsion of Caroline Haskins from the MindTheTech conference in New York City on March 4, 2024.