An adjunct history professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, located in Teaneck, N.J., was terminated March 21 by the school for missing too many days of class to host an Internet show affiliated with the National Socialist Movement called “White Viewpoint.”

The university claimed the professor, Jacques Pluss, had been absent from five classes this semester alone, and his continuing absence was unfair to his students.

Though the university publicly announced his termination was due to an unacceptable attendance record, Pluss said he felt he was wrongly fired because of his membership and activism with the National Socialist Movement, a party often associated with white supremacy and Nazi sentiment, according to CNN.

Though Pluss admitted to his participation in the NSM, he publicly stated he never informed anyone in the school of his political views.

According to an NSM statement, forcing an employee to leave due to his or her legal political affiliations is against every concept in the Constitution.

“The NSM officially condemns Fairleigh Dickinson University for engaging in acts of left-wing McCarthyism,” the statement said. “Pluss was removed from his teaching position at this university apparently for no other reason than being a member of the NSM.”

While the NSM considered the dismissal a breach of the U.S. Constitution, UW Law School professor Carrie Clauss, an expert in labor law, said if an employee is not tenured, as in Pluss’ case, he or she may be fired simply for acting in a manner inconsistent with the workplace.

Because Pluss was only an adjunct professor and lacked a tenured contract, he “does not have free-speech rights or academic-freedom protection,” Clauss said, adding an employee within the private sector does not have the same free-speech rights as an employee at a public university.

“A public employee cannot be fired for free speech, [but] an employee [at a private university] does not have that same right,” Clauss said. “Employment in the country is at will. Anyone can be fired for any reason.”

However, the NSM claimed the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of speech is more than a legal issue — it is critical to freedom itself.

“The Constitution is best protected in a free marketplace of ideas rather than by school officials,” the release said.

The controversial case has stirred debate in some civil-liberty groups around the country. The American Civil Liberties Union is a group that “will defend every stripe of speech,” Clauss said.

The ACLU has a history of defending Nazi groups and will not shy away from this case if it deems it worthy of representation, she added.

However, according to UW political science professor Donald Downs, Pluss has the option to pursue the case if he was in fact fired for his underlying beliefs.

“[We] do not have many cases of people being fired for extreme views,” Downs said. “But he has to come up with evidence that he was singled out.”

Fairleigh Dickinson University has declined to respond to questions regarding Pluss’ firing, stating the issue is “essentially a personal matter” for the professor.