Nov

10

Does Facebook Equal Free Speech for Employees????

Posted by: stevelowisz | Comments (0)

We have all heard stories regarding employees being fired from organizations due to questionable comments or behaviors they were foolish enough to place on Facebook, Twitter or other social media site.  My favorite is the story of a junior executive who called his boss to request a day off because he wasn’t feeling well.  A few minutes after the executive hung up the phone with the employee he received an automatic update from his Facebook account via his Blackberry.   The ‘sick’ junior executive posted: “What a great day to play hooky from work and my overbearing boss and play a round of golf with friends. Clubs, beer and hotdogs deserve my time more than that big company does!”  The employee went on to indicate what time he was playing as well as the name of the golf course.  The senior executive jumped in his car, drove to the golf course and immediately terminated the junior executive on the spot.  The now jobless employee argued that his Facebook page was personal and for friends only, indicating that he would sue the company for wrongful termination.  The senior executive then reminded the ex-employee that he (junior executive) sent him (the boss) a friend request to join his Facebook friends list just 2 weeks prior! Read More→