An employment lawyer warned that workers who express strong opinions about Lindsay Clancy could be fired and that such discipline might be lawful, according to the attorney.
Nicole Brenecki, a New York-based employment lawyer, said employers generally may prohibit workplace discussions about the Massachusetts mother who is on trial. “That disciplinary measure, it’s not on its face illegal if you get fired for starting, you know, fiery speech about Lindsay Clancy and how you support her,” Brenecki said.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — and of trying to end her own life by dropping from a second-floor window after sending her husband to pick up takeout and an item from a pharmacy, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office has said. Jurors began deliberating after closing arguments Thursday and must decide whether she is guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. Prosecutors say a first-degree murder conviction would carry a sentence of life without parole, and defense attorney Kevin Reddington has argued Clancy suffered postpartum psychosis.
Brenecki said a fired employee could still raise legal claims if an employer used comments about the case as a pretext to dismiss someone for other reasons. She said courts would consider workplace rules, whether the speech occurred during work hours, whether it disrupted...
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