Feds Settle Case of Woman Fired Over Facebook Posts 316
Mr.Intel writes "Employers should think twice before trying to restrict workers from talking about their jobs on Facebook or other social media. That's the message the government sent on Monday as it settled a closely watched lawsuit against a Connecticut ambulance company that fired an employee after she went on Facebook to criticize her boss in 2009."
Well in that case... (Score:5, Insightful)
No just kidding I fucking love my job.
TBH, I think employers in the States are a little presumptuous over the lives of those who work for them.
Meddling with your employees only turns them against you. Stop it.
If you are worried about what people will say about you over social networking sites, then it's time to have better policies that make sense to everyone, and consider your employees first, but this doesn't cover disloyalty, so if you work for Pepsi or Coke and you drink the other company's products on your social media you could still be fired.
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed! But they should not be able fire people for criticizing their bosses or their employer.
Correct rulling (Score:5, Insightful)
Concerted activity is protected regardless of the medium of communication. In order for workers to organize to improve their lives, they must be free to discuss wages or conditions without facing retaliation from their bosses. In practice this is rarely the case, especially since most workers lack a union to back up their rights. It's good that the courts didn't take capital's side for once.
Re:If I'm the one compensating them... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:2, Insightful)
Welcome to freedom of speech, don't want someone to call you a moron? Don't act like one.
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:5, Insightful)
So if one of my employees writes somewhere that he thinks I'm a moron or he insults my wife or spreads nasty rumors about my sex life I just have to keep happily giving him my money?
That's crazy.
Yes, that's exactly what this states. Because his private conversations in a private place, or even his public conversations in a public place, on his or her own time, are absolutely none of your business.
From a professional standpoint.
Just like if one of your employees went to a bar after work and was ranting about you. You would have no justification in firing them for their behavior off the clock like that.
You are paying for your employee's time, knowledge, and skills. You have to earn their loyalty and respect.
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:4, Insightful)
Nope. Libel and slander are still on the books. Not to mention there's plenty of ways to fire them without bringing up their online behavior.
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:If I'm the one compensating them... (Score:5, Insightful)
If I'm the one compensating them I should be able to fire them, for whatever reason I choose.
The problem with that is that if you are working for someone else, as does 99% of the working US citizens, suddenly you have to watch what you say on your own time. I find that incredibly uncomfortable. In fact a large percentage of me speech is throttled because I am well aware that my employer can fire me for almost any reason or for no stated reason at all.
Our life off the clock should be ours to live as we wish. How many of us work for people who have conservative christian leanings? What if that employer is backing some serious overly conservative bible thumping organizations that are trying to limit people's rights and freedoms. I would like to be able to openly protest and fight against those efforts while not at work without fear of being fired.
Re:If I'm the one compensating them... (Score:3, Insightful)
Being an employer does not give you the right to suspend the constitution. We are citizens, not slaves. Running a business does give to a license to be a tin god. The Founders of the US understood this, and they were willing to die for it. People in the middle east are dieing right now in order to have the right to freely express themselves. Your statement puts you firmly on the same side as King Gorge IV, Stalin, and the Taliban. How does it feel to be on their side? I think you fit right in.
Re:Beer companies will fire you (Score:2, Insightful)
Plus there's been several stories of people fired for political bumper stickers because the company owner didn't agree (it's always right wing bosses firing left wings employees too...).
Care to provide some support for that claim? Or does it not need support since anyone who doesn't worship the DNC is automatically evil and doesn't need any proof before crucifying them?
Re:Ruling doesn't affect Internet blocking (Score:4, Insightful)
Just like in China, bureaucracies often make a shitload of rules just to give the higher ups a toolbox of excuses to remove people they don't like.
When everybody's breaking the rules you get to be picky about who you punish.
Doubly so if your boss can get away with using at will employment as a backdoor loophole for whatever prejudices he wouldn't dare put down in writing or mention in earshot of potential witnesses.