Lawsuit: 2 fired for sending Obama 'tar ball' e-mail

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Two fired employees say a western Pennsylvania company violated their constitutional rights by terminating them after they forwarded an e-mail likening President Barack Obama to the tar balls washed ashore after the Gulf oil spill.

The suit says Deborah Bonanno and James Sprung were fired by Centers for Rehab Services for sending an e-mail the company deemed “contained political and discriminatory content.” The suit says the company was stifling their free expression.

The e-mail reportedly showed Obama at a beach with the caption referring to a “tar ball” washing up on shore. The suit claims it was an expression of feelings that the president and others were “dithering” as the spill worsened.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer and Centers for Rehab Services did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.