Eastern Florida State College has reached a settlement agreement with Erika Santos, a former grant accountant, paying $250,000 to resolve a free speech lawsuit. The agreement includes all damages and attorney fees related to Santos’ termination. As part of the settlement, Santos agreed not to seek or apply for employment at the college in the future.
Santos was suspended without pay in September after the college received an anonymous letter directing attention to private posts on her personal Facebook account. The posts contained criticism of Charlie Kirk’s positions regarding race, women’s rights and abortion. Following a month-long investigation, EFSC terminated Santos’ employment, citing comments it characterized as “repugnant, divisive, political in nature, and undermining public confidence in EFSC’s ability to provide an educational environment free from discrimination based on political affiliation.”
In her lawsuit filed in November, Santos contended that her Facebook posts constituted protected speech on matters of public concern, including political violence, gender equality and freedom of expression. She argued the posts were unrelated to her job duties and did not disrupt college operations. Santos’ statement emphasized that the college’s action, triggered by an anonymous complaint about her private social media activity, demonstrated a failure to prioritize employee and student interests.
The college’s legal representative, Mark Levitt, stated in communications to Florida Today that the institution denies any wrongdoing or legal violations. He maintained that the college stands by its decision to terminate Santos, contending that her activities were incompatible with institutional mission, professional standards, college policies and the college’s primary objective of serving students.
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