Moran

We must decide, on appeal from denial of summary judgment, whether a state agency head may discharge a subordinate who refuses to carry out official agency policy without subjecting herself to the risk of personal liability for breach of constitutional rights.

I

Deborah Senn was elected to the office of Washington State Insurance Commissioner in November 1992. During her campaign, Senn had advocated the expansion of consumer “outreach” and education programs conducted by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (“OIC”). To that end, in August 1993, she hired Nickie Moran as Deputy Commissioner for Consumer Advocacy and Outreach.

In her capacity as Deputy Commissioner, Moran supervised a staff of more than twenty individuals in two cities, Seattle and Olympia, and reported directly to Krishna Fells, Senn’s Chief of Staff. 2 As one of her primary duties, Moran was responsible for developing and implementing an “outreach” program for the OIC aimed, according to Senn, at informing and educating Washington citizens regarding insurance matters. *842 The outreach effort envisioned by Senn involved, inter alia, the following activities: setting up informational tables in city halls…