More Examples of posting on Facebook and getting fired

[RNIBCLC]

Granted this employee is not a nurse but it still demonstrates hospitals firing employes for comments that they post on social media.

Facebook post about Ferguson leads to firing

[SWM2009]

There you have it, the consequences of posting your opinions or venting your frustrations on Facebook/Twitter wherever can be dire. If you friend co-workers and identify your employer on your Face Book page, you are in effect handing them material they can use against you whether you like it or not. That is the reality.

[Emergent, RN]

People have to be very careful when making any statement that could interpreted at hostile toward minorities. It's just a fact of life. There are certain topics that are just taboo, especially in a situation like this.

There are a lot of gray areas here. Did the company outline the dos and don'ts ahead of time? Is there a double standard at play here? What if someone had made a similar comment regarding the police?

I'm uncomfortable that opinions can be the basis for firing. This could be a slippery slope. Can they fire people for expressing political points of view? Can corporate America start to dictate what we can say through economic coercion?

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Legally they can fire you for whatever reason,except for these that are protected under the Federal Employment Laws. I think they are sex, race, religion, and genetics ( read something about it somewhere not sure if it was part of the law or something they were trying to add in regards to prevent genetic testing discrimination). Also I believe sexual orientation was included recently ( don't quote me on that, I am posting from my phone so its hard to check my statements for a 100 % fact accuracy).

[AdamantiteEnigma]

People have to be very careful when making any statement that could interpreted at hostile toward minorities. It's just a fact of life. There are certain topics that are just taboo, especially in a situation like this.

There are a lot of gray areas here. Did the company outline the dos and don'ts ahead of time? Is there a double standard at play here? What if someone had made a similar comment regarding the police?

I'm uncomfortable that opinions can be the basis for firing. This could be a slippery slope. Can they fire people for expressing political points of view? Can corporate America start to dictate what we can say through economic coercion?

Yes, they can. Frankly, I don't like it one bit. Yet it's been proven time after time.

I did volunteer work for many years with an agency that researched the activities and gleaned identities of adults who groomed and/or solicited children online. I used to put together packets for law enforcement which allowed them to obtain warrants or perform sting operations. I still strongly believe in this work, but don't have the time these days.

I recall making it to the third round of interviews and the top of the candidate list for a corporate entity. That was a six figure, life changing job for me. Supervising nursing support for patients that received their implants - super easy work for me. I also remember being disqualified from the running due to my Facebook Page. Because on that page, you can read about my connections with that group and my volunteer function within it. And it just so happened that their main offices were located in a city where a sting operation resulted in quite a few arrests.

What you put up online with your name behind it can bite you where the sun doesn't shine in a most unpleasant way. It's something everyone should be aware of. But most aren't.

However unless the language is violent, suggesting violence, or outright racist, I don't believe it should be an issue. In the case of the article the ex employee stated, "The police need to just start mowing them down with machine guns, purge them," That's too much to pass up I think. Mowing them down with machine guns speaks for itself. Purge them, well... either of those descriptors alone would raise eyebrows in reasonable, sane people. I couldn't keep an employee who posted things like that who listed me as their employer. It gives the impression that I, as their employer, endorse or support their view.

This kind of corporate intervention though is really bothersome to me nonetheless. Can't help but ponder on it though. If I really felt the need to publish such sentiments online, why would it need to be done in a way that identifies who I am and who my employer is? A wackjob would know exactly where to find me. And an angry but reasonable person could bring negative consequences to bear in my life by getting me dismissed.

[Chinthrilla]

Well, what she said was messed up and I personally don't agree with her views but I don't think that she shouldn't have been fired on it. She has the right to express herself on her own facebook page as she pleases. No job has the right to dictate what you do off the clock. However, I do understand that the hospital has to save face in a world where racism still clearly runs rampant, prove that they and the people they employ aren't racists and prove to consumers that they can still come to their business in peace.

I think the fact of the matter is that social media ruins lives so people should think before oversharing with the rest of the world. Put a filter on it people...what you think is something superrrrrrr clever might actually be superrrrrr offensive to some.

[richardgecko]

Stop acting brand new, guys. If you choose to use social media as a platform, expect to be judged on what you use that platform for - in this case, advocating murder.

Your social media activity can be found by the average google user with just a few searches, whether its protected or not. What stops an employer from using that information to judge your character? After all this is the perception that you put out there to the public.

When I applied for a job with a particular gov't agency, that agency reactivated an old FB account that I deleted years prior so that they could get a feel for my personal affiliations. When I went in for a second interview, they asked me about certain family members that had criminal records and what was the extent of our relationship. This was a DELETED FB page, guys.

[SDALPN]

Well, what she said was messed up and I personally don't agree with her views but I don't think that she shouldn't have been fired on it. She has the right to express herself on her own facebook page as she pleases. No job has the right to dictate what you do off the clock. However, I do understand that the hospital has to save face in a world where racism still clearly runs rampant, prove that they and the people they employ aren't racists and prove to consumers that they can still come to their business in peace.

I think the fact of the matter is that social media ruins lives so people should think before oversharing with the rest of the world. Put a filter on it people...what you think is something superrrrrrr clever might actually be superrrrrr offensive to some.

I agree. But that doesn't keep racists out of the hospital. Patients can be just the same or worse.

And what about the daycare worker who walks in wearing scrubs and saying racist statements? Most people think scrubs and nursing go together (and they should...another topic though). Patients would think its an employee.

Can't judge a company by one employee. Can't judge an employee based on a company.

[macawake, MSN]

Can't judge a company by one employee. Can't judge an employee based on a company.

Unfortunately, I don't think that it matters one way or the other if it's fair or rational to judge a company based on the opinions expressed by a single employee. Personally I don't think that it is. The problem however, is very real for the company if the public associates the employee's opinion with that person's place of work, whether it's justified or not. The company won't want to be associated with certain opinions and will distance themselves from the "outspoken" former employee without compunction.

Even though I personally think what's rational and just is the more important issue, there's no denying that we have to deal with reality. The reality in this case is that employer's will exercise damage control. Think before you act, and be prepared to face the consequences.

Even though I suspect that the utterances this person made stems from frustration and doesn't actually reflect a genuine wish for the slaughter of hundreds of human beings, it was still an astonishingly ill-considered thing to do. If the person actually meant it, then it's just vile. But as I said, I believe it was probably/hopefully a case of frustration getting the better of her/him.

Social media isn't private by any means. Posting on social media is tantamount to shouting out your opinions and information with the use of a super effective megaphone.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Do I agree with what she said? Absolutely not! Does she have the right to say it? Absolutely!....Does her employer have the right to fire her for saying it? Absolutely! The right to free speech doesn't come with the right to have no consequences for it.

A dumb but true for instance...she also could have been fired for wearing purple socks instead of red socks if that had gone against what the company wants. None of us, in any profession, have the "right" to our job.

[Emergent, RN]

Do I agree with what she said? Absolutely not! Does she have the right to say it? Absolutely!....Does her employer have the right to fire her for saying it? Absolutely! The right to free speech doesn't come with the right to have no consequences for it.

A dumb but true for instance...she also could have been fired for wearing purple socks instead of red socks if that had gone against what the company wants. None of us, in any profession, have the "right" to our job.

This brings up the point, once again. Yes, what this woman said is intemperate, low class, loathsome, and considering her wording ('mow down and purge them')and the situation, racist. Many here say, "Fired her!". It's easy to jump on that bandwagon, we all agree she's just awful and we disapprove of her speech.

But defending freedom of speech or freedom of religion isn't supposed to mean only the speeches that we find appealing, or the belief with which we agree. We should defend free speech on principle!

And once again, I ask, should a society allow those with economic power over us to exert their ability to fire us when we say something that even the majority of us disagree with and find offensive? What if our corporate overlords decide that they don't like us to speak out on politics, gay marriage, abortion, environmental causes, global warming, or anything else that they might find potentially damaging to their corporate image or interests.

What's the point in the fact the the government allows free speech and the government won't throw you in prison for your opinions if, in expressing those heartfelt beliefs your livelihood is taken away! You say she should be fired?

From Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

[TheGooch]

The comment was inappropriate. But it had nothing to do with her job or place of work. I'm sure many will disagree with me. But, these companies shouldn't have the power to own us off the clock. If it was said off the clock, she should have the right to free speech. She should have the right to her beliefs, even if we disagree with them. Our personal business and beliefs shouldn't have an effect on our jobs. As long as the job is done right and the employee is reliable, the rest shouldn't matter.

I agree with you. The hospital had no business firing her and I hope she sues them.

[TheGooch]

I just presented proffesionalism and social media to the incoming first semester students at our bi annual bootcamp. This would have been a good discussion.

Professionalism not proffesionalism.