This morning on the way to work, I heard a woman was fired from her job due to comments she made on Facebook. I missed much of the conversation so I Googled it and found this article. It explained that a woman was fired after posting some not so appropriate remarks about her boss on Facebook. It went on to say that Federal authorities have now filed a lawsuit against the employer because the woman's comments should be protected under labor laws.
I found this very interesting and cannot wait to hear how this turns out. I think the implications are huge. With more and more peole signing up for Facebook and other social media sites, this will happen again. Do companies now need to have Facebook policies? If so, will these policies hold up under the law?
So glad you posted on this! I just heard about it, too. I heard that there is much more to it, that the woman was extremely rude to her customers/patients, etc. If they have all that documented, I think it will be hard to prove that her Facebook comments led to her firing. At the same time, I think if you are make malicious attacks about your employer online - Facebook or elsewhere - you are breaching a character clause - likely. And if there isn't one, I bet you will see employers adding that to their employee contracts. Will be interesting for sure!
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how organizations handle this. As many start to open up, the challenges will continue to increase. That being said, don't you think as an individual, that common sense has to pervail? Sometimes I just have to wonder, what were you thinking? If you wouldn't say something to someone directly, why is it now okay to broadcast it to the crowd and then think there would not be consequences? I am continuously reminded that we should remember what our parents told us - think before we speak, or write and post . . .
ReplyDeleteThis has always been my beef with Facebook in particular, but the web in general: people use it as a way to vent, be a different persona (or their "real" persona) never even thinking or seeming to care about what their behavior actually does to other people. I know people who've had families ripped apart by facebook stupidity.
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