Kaplan said the First Amendment right to free speech applies to employees of public or government employers, but not to employees of private employers. “For example, a private employer, like Foley and Lardner, can take whatever action it wants based on speech, depending upon the speech that is undertaken, but if it disagrees with something I say, they can absolutely take adverse action against me,” he said. “I don’t have any First Amendment right vis-à-vis my private employer.”