SCCC groundskeeper Salvatore Esposito reaches settlement with employer over MAGA cap use, court documents reveal

A Suffolk County Community College groundskeeper has reached an undisclosed financial settlement to dismiss a lawsuit he filed against his employer for barring him from wearing a Make America Great Again cap while on the job at its Selden campus in 2019.

Salvatore Esposito confirmed to Newsday that, following months of negotiations, he agreed to settle his 2019 federal lawsuit against the college and Suffolk County, although he declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal. Court records show the parties agreed to dismiss the case on Jan. 13 following a settlement conference.

Esposito, 54, of Coram, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, accused SCCC of violating his First Amendment right to free speech when he wore the cap during an open house.

The university has argued in court that Esposito was welcome to express his political beliefs, but that a red MAGA hat — or a cap of any kind — isn't part of the college-issued groundskeeper uniform of blue pants and a blue shirt.

"This was a victory for the First Amendment and free speech, and that makes it a victory for everybody. For Republicans, Democrats and everybody," Esposito said, adding that the monetary financial settlement was modest and will donated to Voice Of Freedom International Ministries, a Brooklyn-based church he is affiliated with, in the name of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump.

A Suffolk County Community College spokeswoman declined to comment, while county officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite the lawsuit, Esposito was never disciplined for his attire and has kept his job at the college, working on the landscaping crew for about 20 years.

The dispute arose on April 7, 2019 — during Trump's first term — when Wes Lundburg, then the university's former executive dean of the Ammerman Campus, spotted the MAGA hat at the open house attended by 400 to 500 parents and students and notified Esposito's supervisor, John Salerno.

In an email, Lundburg told Salerno that political attire, no matter the affiliation, "is not permissible during working hours." Two of Esposito's supervisors, he said, later told him that he'd be disciplined if he wore the hat again.

"While the hat doesn't have a political candidate's name nor a party or logo on it, it has nevertheless reached the level of being a clear political statement," Lundburg wrote. "As you know, the college's policy is strict about these kinds of things."

In a follow-up correspondence to Esposito, Lundburg clarified his stance, saying the hat wouldn't be prohibited because of "a possible political message; it would be prohibited because it is not part of your college uniform."

Esposito, however, argued that he'd worn hats on the job for years, from Yankees and Islanders caps to one with the Army logo.

In court records, Esposito argued that other SCCC employees have worn caps bearing the names of former President Barack Obama or former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and publicly expressed political beliefs, such as holding signs in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young immigrants from deportation, or having Black Lives Matters posters hanging in their office.

Lundburg, who now serves as president of San Diego Miramar College, did not respond to a request for comment.

In a Feb. 14, 2024, court filing, Suffolk Assistant County Attorney Callan Tauster said Esposito wore the hat to show Republicans who were attending the open house that they'd be welcome on campus.

"He was not authorized to do so, nor did he ask permission beforehand," Tauster argued. "He was not engaged in protected speech."

Since the open house, Esposito said he has not worn the cap again while on campus.

Terry Maccarrone, president of the Suffolk County Association of Municipal Employees, Esposito's labor union, said "it's unfortunate" that he had to go through the process but he's satisfied with the resolution.

Esposito served in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2006, after exposés were published about the U.S. military's mistreatment of prisoners there. After returning home, Esposito, using the GI Bill, graduated from the college with a liberal arts degree in 2012.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.