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Posting negative social media comments can impact your employment

On Behalf of | Jun 10, 2020 | Firm News

Social media posts can become public immediately. Many people do not think how a post could impact their company or their employment. A single post can destroy a company’s morale and it could jeopardize your job.

In many cases, dismissing an employee for a social media post can be difficult. A company usually has the right to end your employment if you post a negative comment about your employer.

Understand your rights if you lost your job after a social media post

Government employees have more protections. Yet if you work for a private company, there are ways your employer can legally dismiss you from your job for a social media post.

Businesses and employees must understand legal protections, including:

  • Company policies. This could include limiting social media during work hours.
  • At-will employment. Kentucky is an at-will state. That means you can be dismissed from your job for any reason. The company, however, cannot break the law or violate your civil rights.
  • Protected activities. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects you in some cases. You cannot be fired for posts if you can prove the posts were used to criticize poor work conditions, including safety, or unfair employment policies. You and your fellow employees can talk about issues if you are trying to improve working conditions. If your post is determined to be venting, with no discussions with coworkers, it might be difficult to prove that criteria.

Dismissals can happen for a variety of reasons related to social media

A company can fire you for a variety of reasons. It might be for negative comments about the company or photos of a coworker. Maybe there are trade secrets posted. If you face the loss of your job related to social media, you need to understand laws and your protections.

 

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