Constitutionalizing merit? Practical implications of Elrod, Branti, and Rutan

Article Abstract:

The Supreme Court decisions in Elrod v Burns, Branti v Finkle and Rutan v Republican Party of Illinois consider First and 14th Amendment rights to be violated by hiring practices based on political patronage. The decisions in Elrod and Branti dealt with dismissal for reasons of patronage, and this was extended to promotion and transfer by the decision in Rutan. Since opinion was not unanimous, some patronage practices seem legitimate. The practice may be entrenched or insidious, and the development of explicit merit guidelines at the local level is a reasonable precaution against litigation.

Appointments, resignations and dismissals, Civil service reform

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The First Amendment and the public sector employee: the effect of recent patronage cases on public sector personnel decisions

Article Abstract:

A survey of patronage cases involving public sector employees shows that courts tend to side with the government on cases involving independent contractors. Appeals courts also tend to interpret cases as contract terminations only while some have a tendency to interpret cases more broadly. Patronage cases tend to affect public employees much in the same way regardless of kind with that on independents being less clear.

Other Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities, Civil Rights, Employment discrimination

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The difficulty of protecting merit in a plural society: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

Article Abstract:

A study examining the effects of introducing and sustaining the merit principle in the public, in Trinidad and Tobago nation, an ex-colonial nation, is presented.

Trinidad and Tobago, Analysis, Merit system

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