A Reasonable Public Servant: Constitutional Foundations of Administrative Conduct in the United States

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M.E. Sharpe, 2005 - 299 pages
An essential text for PA courses on Human Resource Management as well as Public Management and Law, this book illuminates the role of the reasonable public servant, who strives to perform authorized functions efficiently, yet in a manner that aligns with constitutional values embodied in the Bill of Rights. "A Reasonable Public Servant" provides a comprehensive review of Supreme Court opinions in explaining the reasonable conduct of a public servant and the development of clearly established constitutional and statutory rights that a reasonable public servant is expected to observe: property rights; procedural due process; freedom of critical speech; privacy; equal protection; and anti-discrimination laws. The author relies on the Court's opinions as the exemplar of public reason, and pays close attention to the manner in which the Court balances among competing value priorities - for example, the rights of a public servant as an employee as well as an individual citizen, and the efficiency needs of the government as an employer as well as a sovereign state. This book's detailed appendices include the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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Contents

The Constitution and a Reasonable Public Servant 382
3
Personal Responsibility
18
Official Responsibility
42
Official Responsibility 2443
45
Property Rights Liberty and Procedural Due Process
61
Freedom of Critical Speech
85
Right to Privacy
111
Equal Protection and Affirmative Action
132
Americans with Disabilities
201
The World of a Reasonable Public Servant
231
The Constitution of the United States of America
243
The Bill of Rights and Additional Amendments
255
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended
265
Glossary
273
Index
287
About the Authors 299

Discrimination in Employment
155
Sexual Harassment and Employer Liability
179

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