9.10 Particular Rights — First Amendment – Public Employees – Speaking as a Private Citizen is a right that is held by public employees in the United States. This right allows them to speak freely without fear of punishment from their employer, as long as the speech is not related to their job duties. This right is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech". There are two types of 9.10 Particular Rights — First Amendment – Public Employees – Speaking as a Private Citizen: on-duty speech and off-duty speech. On-duty speech refers to speech that is made while a public employee is performing their job duties. Off-duty speech refers to speech that is made when the public employee is not performing their job duties.