Nelson v. McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
Supreme Court of Washington
936 P.2d 1123 (Wash. 1997)
Nelson (plaintiff), a reporter for The News Tribune (TNT), was a visible off-duty activist for gay and lesbian rights, feminism, and abortion rights, and was sometimes recognized as a TNT reporter while doing so. TNT, owned by McClatchy (defendant), transferred Nelson to a non-reporting editing job under its ethics code barring conflicts of interest that could make readers see its reporting as biased, and refused to reinstate her while she remained politically active. Nelson sued under Washington's Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA), which bars discriminating against employees for political activity; the trial court granted summary judgment for McClatchy, finding the FCPA inapplicable, and Nelson appealed.
Whether an employer newspaper may require its reporters to abstain from political activism in order to protect the newspaper's editorial discretion, notwithstanding a state law barring political-activity discrimination.