The law in this circuit is clear that sheriffs in Virginia have the right to lawfully terminate their deputies for political affiliation reasons.
Jenkins v. Medford, 119 F.3d 1156, 1163–65 (4th Cir.1997) (
en banc ) (overruling
Jones v. Dodson, 727 F.2d 1329 (4th Cir.1984)). However, we have not addressed the question of whether sheriffs have the right to lawfully terminate their dispatchers for political affiliation reasons. Our decision in
Jenkins sends mixed signals to sheriffs in this regard. On the one hand, a dispatcher with access to confidential information, arguably, is the equivalent of your everyday clerical worker, especially when, as in this case, each dispatcher did mostly clerical work, did not wear a uniform, did not have a badge, had no arrest authority, and had no discretionary authority.
Id. at 1165 (“[D]ismissals based on today's holding [are limited] to those deputies actually sworn to engage in law enforcement activities on behalf of the sheriff. We issue this limitation to caution sheriffs that courts examine the job duties of the position, and not merely the title, of those dismissed. Because the deputies in the instant case were law enforcement officers, they are not protected by this limitation.”) (footnotes omitted),
id. n. 66 (citing
Zorzi v. County of Putnam, 30 F.3d 885, 892 (7th Cir.1994), which held that dispatchers were not involved in law enforcement activities or making policy, and, therefore, political affiliation was not an inappropriate job requirement). On the other hand,
Jenkins says privity to confidential information permits a lawful termination based on political affiliation reasons.
119 F.3d at 1164 (“If the position resembles a policymaker, a communicator, or a privy to confidential information, then loyalty to the sheriff is an appropriate requirement for the job.”) (internal quotation marks and footnote omitted).