In the wake of the September 2025 assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, more than 600 workers were fired, placed under investigation, or otherwise reprimanded by their employers for posting about his killing on social media.

The majority had posted critical commentary, which some Republican government officials, including Vice President JD Vance and prominent right-wing influencers, encouraged their supporters to report to employers.

In recent months, some of the employers that took action against their employees for their social media comments about Kirk’s killing have faced a reckoning of sorts. Some have paid out more than $1.2 million via lawsuit settlements to ex-employees fired over social media posts. (Other settlements have been unrelated to employment concerns.) That number might be eye-popping to some employers, and could have them reconsider how they respond to employees’ social media posts. “The settlements illustrate the limits employers can have in regulating their workers’ political rhetoric,” Axios reporters Avery Lotz and Rebecca Falconer wrote last month.

But that may not be the case for most employers, two employment attorneys told HR Brew.

Public vs. private employers. All of the settlements so far have been paid out by public employers—such as universities and state government agencies—where workers have First Amendment protections related to privately commenting on matters of public interest. In the private sector, workers generally...

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