Rants about employers that are usually saved for visits by the water cooler and coffee machine are now making their way to Facebook pages and other social media sites, and sometimes with grave consequences for employees. Many people are reportedly getting fired for posting derogatory comments or pictures on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.
According to a November 10, 2010 CNN article titled "Can Facebook Get You Fired? Playing it Safe in the Social Media World" by Stephanie Chen, The National Labor Relations Board "issued a complaint against a Connecticut ambulance service company after it fired a worker for posting unflattering and sometimes vulgar comments about her boss on Facebook."
The National Labor Relations Board accused Dawnmarie Souza's company of illegally terminating her and "denying her access to union representation during an investigatory review. The federal agency is arguing that Souza's criticism of her boss on Facebook is generally 'a protected concerted activity.'" However, some employment attorneys still say posting negative comments online can get you fired, and people should take precautions before they spill anger towards their jobs onto their Facebook page.
Facebook and Employers
People should exercise caution and assume that their employers monitor their social media sites. According to Rachael King in a Business Week May 7, 2009 article titled "Companies Want to Monitor Employees on Social Networks," A survey from "Deloitte underscores the growing role of social networks and the dilemma they present for corporations that spend huge amounts to burnish their image. The professional services firm found that 60 percent of the executives interviewed believe they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations."
According to King, 53 percent of employees surveyed believe employers have no right to spy on their social networking sites. Employees may also feel their security settings on Facebook or other networking sites are secure, but the tenuous settings in place on networking sites are not reliable. People may believe their settings have been set for privacy, but in reality it is still possible for anything someone posts to make its way around the Web. There are numerous third-party sites that collect information from networking sites. Once something is posted on the Web, people should just assume it's going to be public information.
Facebook and Employee Rights
Few companies have guidelines for their employees about the use of social networks. According to King, Deloitte Chairman Sharon Allen says, “'We found a high percentage of employers who are thinking about what they should do but not a high percentage of employers who have concluded what those procedures and policies should be.'”
Nonetheless, employees should make their online presence work for them instead of against them, and people who are looking for jobs should be especially diligent about creating a professional online presence.
Fired for Facebook
Employees should check with their employers about guidelines for social networking sites. They should also be careful about anything they post online and just take for granted it could be accessible by anyone, especially their employer.
Sources:
Chen, Stephanie. " Can Facebook Get You Fired? Playing it Safe in the Social Media World." CNN. November 10, 2010.
King, Rachael. "Companies Want to Monitor Employees on Social Networks." Business Week. May 7, 2009.
Cathy Herold - Cathy Herold lives in southern California. She has a BA in English and minor in African American Studies from UCLA and a master's degree ...
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