Labor & Employment Law

Can I Get Fired for Posting on Twitter or Facebook?

Find Law's Common Law ran an interesting story Can I Be Fired For Post in Twitter of Facebook? All my students should know the answer to that question. YES!! As the article states:
[S]ome employees out there might be wondering if they could lose their job based on their online posts.

The answer is a pretty clear "yes" in the majority of circumstances.

Because most states have "at will" employment laws, getting fired for online behavior of almost any sort is probably legal, with a few possible exceptions. To be more blunt about it, an employee probably doesn't even have to write negatively about their employer (or consort with criminals) in order to be fired. The noteworthy exceptions primarily involve an employee's: 1) union activities; 2) pre-existing employment contracts or workplace policies; and 3) whistle blowing or protected activities.

But what if you're doing your posting on your own time and in the privacy of your own home?

That won't make a difference considering the material being viewed was posted online for the whole world to see. Employees and those looking for work should also take note that it is getting quite common for supervisors and employers to use search engines to look up existing and prospective employees.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on April 27, 2009 (boomark / email).