NCJ Number
137438
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 61 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 26-31
Date Published
1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Affording due process to all adverse personnel actions in law enforcement agencies produces both immediate and future benefits and permits law enforcement employers to disclose all relevant information to prospective law enforcement employers without fear of violating a former employee's liberty interest.
Abstract
The fifth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution provide that persons may not be deprived of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law. In the employment context, the protection of liberty is closely associated with reputation and the right to work in the field of one's choosing. U.S. Supreme Court cases make it clear that a plaintiff can establish a liberty interest claim only if there is governmental publication or dissemination of stigmatizing information concurrent with loss of employment or alteration of one's legal status and if the information disseminated is false. Once a liberty interest has been infringed, the protection granted by the Constitution is due process of law which guarantees reasonable notice and a hearing. Legally defensible responses are noted that law enforcement agencies can choose when a prospective employer makes an inquiry about a former employee. 58 endnotes