The purpose of this paper is to explore the due-process rights of public employees. These particular rights are grounded in the constitutionally protected liberty interest in one's good name and reputation. Both employers and employees should be aware of what parameters case law provides with regard to the dimensions of this due-process right and how this liberty-interest issue has been addressed in the context of public education. Cases pertinent to the liberty interest in good name and reputation, resolved by the United States Courts of Appeal during the past 20 years, are presented and discussed by category: cause of action; "stigma plus"; defamation, involving charges of dishonesty, illegality, and immorality, charges of unsatisfactory performance, and dismissals standing alone; changes in employment status; loss of employment opportunities; publication, in which an employee's personnel file is or is not made public, or involving contrasting burdens of proof; denying the truth of an allegation, with discussion of the purpose of a denial and contrasting burdens of proof; due process, with discussion of purpose of hearing, employee request, adequate hearings, and not-adequate hearings; and concluding observations. (RT)