Indiana university agrees to $225,000 settlement over firing tied to Kirk post

A former Ball State University employee will receive $225,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging her firing violated free-speech protections. The American Civil Liberties Union announced the settlement Tuesday on behalf of Suzanne Swierc, who had worked as director of health promotion and advocacy at the Muncie, Indiana campus.

Background of the firing Swierc was terminated last September after university officials cited a private Facebook post she made following Kirk’s death. ” Ball State said the post caused “significant disruption” to campus operations. University President Geoffrey Mearns stated that the reaction included threats of withheld donations and at least one parent planning to withdraw children from the school.

Lawsuit and settlement details The ACLU filed suit last year, arguing Swierc spoke as a private citizen on a matter of public concern. Attorney Stevie Pactor said the settlement reflects that government institutions cannot retaliate under those circumstances.

Mearns told campus leaders the payment was substantially less than the cost of continued litigation. The university did not admit wrongdoing.

“The First Amendment does not allow government institutions to retaliate in those circumstances, and this settlement reflects that.”

A Florida state agency agreed earlier this month to pay $485,000 to a former biologist. In January, Austin Peay State University in Tennessee reinstated a professor and paid a $500,000 settlement. Lawsuits by additional fired employees remain pending in multiple states.