It’s a major election year, and that means political debates will happen more often at work. Situations can get particularly tricky when the employer is the government.

Timothy Cronin used to work for the town of Ramapo, NY. Now he’s suing the town board and one of its supervisors, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights. Cronin says he was disciplined for refusing to post a campaign sign on his lawn.

The town says Cronin was fired for improperly taking vacation time.

The lawsuit says Cronin dismantled two 4-foot by 8-foot campaign signs supporting town supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence in an upcoming election, according to the newspaper, The Journal News. He says one had been installed without his permission but he initially agreed to the second one, only to find it was bigger than he thought it would be. The lawsuit also claims Cronin told St. Lawrence he wasn’t supporting the supervisor’s re-election.

Disciplinary charges accusing Cronin of being absent from work without permission were subsequently brought against him. Before a hearing on the matter, Cronin agreed to resign and signed a termination agreement.

Tags: election, fired, lawsuit