High Court Hears Closely Watched Employment Case

School boards’ group, NEA weigh in on firing

May a public employee be fired just out of spite?

That, in essence, was the question before the U.S. Supreme Court last week in a case being watched closely by groups representing teachers and school boards.

The question assumes, as in the case of a food-standards specialist for the state of Oregon whose job was eliminated amid tensions with her boss, that the worker isn’t protected by a union contract or as a member of a group shielded from employment discrimination based on race, sex,...