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25 Ne. J. Legal Stud. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/neastjol25 and id is 1 raw text is: 1/Vol 25/North East Journal of Legal Studies GOSSIP, THE OFFICE AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT by Jerome O'Callaghan, * Rosemary Hartigan, and Paula O'Callaghan If you want to be absolutely literal, all human life is speech. Every time a person goes to work all he does is speak. Or write. Or listen to other people speaking. Or eat lunch. -Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer' ...gossip is a valuable aspect of free speech. -C. Edwin Baker2 INTRODUCTION In 2007 four employees of the town of Hooksett, New Hampshire, were fired for gossiping about a suspected romantic liaison between their boss, the Town Administrator, and a recently promoted town employee. The dismissed employees, all female, became known as the Hooksett Four.3 The Hooksett Four sued the town and identified themselves publicly, giving numerous interviews in local and national media.4 The Town of Hooksett responded by issuing a public *Associate Dean, Arts and Sciences, Associate Professor of Political Science, State University of New York at Cortland. Professor and Director, Business and Executive Programs, Graduate School of Management and Technology, University of Maryland University College. Assistant Professor, Business and Executive Programs, Graduate School of Management and Technology, University of Maryland University College.

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