A month after a Nashville firefighter and comedian sued the department for violating his freedom of speech, he has again been suspended from his day job without pay.
Joshua Lipscomb is better known under his stage name and Twitter handle Josh Black. While his online persona had no references to his job as a firefighter, the Nashville Fire Department suspended Lipscomb twice for violating internal rules related to off-duty conduct.
But those policies are “vague and overbroad”, according to his lawsuit against the department. The complaint alleges that the three-person panel responsible for determining what “reflects poorly on the department” receives no training or supervision, and has not shown Lipscomb the evidence cited in his disciplinary hearings.
Last week, Lipscomb was suspended for an additional 11 days for taking sick leave without a doctor’s note.
The department’s charge letter alleges that Lipscomb hosted an event as Josh Black while he was out sick and awaiting a negative COVID test. In the amended complaint filed Tuesday, he says that was further retaliation for his lawsuit.
Last month, Lipscomb was suspended over tweets he’d made criticizing Metro’s use of license plate readers, saying that they would lead to the over-policing of Black and Brown communities.
At his disciplinary hearing, one panel member criticized the wording of Lipscomb’s tweet, which called members of the Metro Council “white supremacists” while urging millennials to vote in local elections. The fire department’s internal policies prevent firefighters from “unjustly” criticizing anyone within Metro government.
I hate feeding into the illusion that America’s government and existence is legitimate so im no fan of voting.
But the majority of Nashville city council is white supremacists. I know its boring but millennials HAVE to start caring about local elections
These folk want us dead
— Josh Black (@SirJoshuaBlack) February 2, 2022
But it wasn’t the first time the NFD disciplined him over posts he’s made as Josh Black. In 2020, he recorded a phone call with the owner of a controversial business in Nashville that had faced backlash for selling Star of David patches to those who refused to get the COVID vaccine. The owner complained to the fire department, which suspended him for eight days without pay, according to the filing.
Lipscomb is seeking compensation for nearly a month of lost pay and a declaration that these policies are unconstitutional.
The fire department says it does not comment on pending litigation.
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