Town Mgr. Weds Porn Actress and Is Fired, Raising Legal Issues
Seeking to avoid disruptive publicity, a small Florida town fired its manager after learning that he had recently married an adult film actress.
But Scott Janke’s firing this week by the town council of Fort Myers Beach was probably even bigger news, according to the Associated Press. It also raises potential legal issues.
Although he was terminated under a “no-cause” clause in his employment contract, Janke’s firing might violate his First Amendment rights, since he was a government employee, says Diane Duke of the Free Speech Coalition, an adult entertainment industry trade association.
And it may also “run up against Florida’s law that prohibits discrimination based on marital status,” says Howard Simon of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
However, attorney Keith Stern of the Slavitz Law Group in Boca Raton says Janke is unlikely to have a claim unless the town charter provides one. It does not allow a fired town manager to appeal a termination vote by the town council that was unanimous, as it was in Janke’s case, reports the Fort Myers News-Press.
At this point, it isn’t clear whether Janke has any interest in pursuing potential litigation. The town’s mayor, Larry Kiker, says Janke wasn’t fired because of his wife’s occupation but because of the “disruption and interruption” that Janke himself agreed the situation would likely cause, the AP recounts.
“When you become a public figure you are held to a different level of scrutiny and ethics,” said Councilman Tom Babcock at a meeting yesterday.
Because the 55-year-old Janke was terminated without cause, he will receive a six-month severance package, the News-Press reports. He made about $106,000 annually in the job, which he has held a little over a year.
