It’s pretty well known by now that employers are checking social media outlets to see what employees are saying about them. I doubt they are actually doing this on a daily basis but rather are checking if they get a call or hear word of someone saying inappropriate things online. But that’s where things get a little tricky. What is considered inappropriate? Some might say that any mention of your workplace is a bad idea, it’s best to just avoid it all together. But when part of who we are and much of what we spend our time doing is our jobs, sometimes we slip and write something that lands us in hot water.
That’s what is happening right now to Wilmington, Delaware police officer Anthony Easterling. He posted on his Facebook wall:
A word to the wise never get drunk and trip off of meds and call a cop a ‘N’ results broken jaw and criminal charges……WPD for life.
He was off duty at the time of the post. And he isn’t connected, as of now, to any physical harm done to someone being arrested. However, there is an ongoing investigation about the whole matter.
Easterling has said that he was “letting off pressure,” which I completely understand. He puts himself in danger every day. He has probably been called a gazillion names. And he’s probably arrested tons of drunk/high people. That would be frustrating day in and day out. Is he not allowed to say so on Facebook?
Mark Marshall, a sheriff in Virginia, says no. He believes that Easterling overstepped the line between public servants and private citizens. In 1994, the Supreme Court determined that in certain circumstances, the government could restrict officers’ First Amendment rights:
The government cannot restrict the speech of the public at large in the name of efficiency. But where the government is employing someone for the very purpose of effectively achieving its goals, such restrictions may well be appropriate.
Public employees that have been fired for comments made on Facebook, have been fired for violating Professionalism and Social Media Rules in their contracts. As a public employee, we’ve been cautioned numerous times about what we put online. We don’t have a Social Media section in our contract as of now, but people have gotten in trouble for not being professional when it comes to using social media. I often hate that I can’t be 100% honest online, but I wonder if anyone can. Should people be fired for venting about aspects of their job online?
I don’t have an answer for that.
brahm (alfred lives here)
07/25/2012
I see both sides of this one… does the fact that he is a cop, as opposed to say an accountant or a fragrance spritzer at Macy’s, matter? Maybe yes. Is that fair? Maybe.
Our company has a social media policy we all sign saying we cannot speak for or about the company, but doesn’t and shouldn’t say anything about our general behaviour outside of work. Okay maybe it is unfair for the cop to have different rules…
Nichole
07/26/2012
I debate this in my head all of the time. I realize that there’s a certain level of morality or expectations that people have of those who work in law enforcement, education, etc. We don’t hold people in the banking business or other careers to the same level of standard. I understand why but sometimes that feels stifling.
Having said that, if my husband who works in a very corporate position, wrote something on FB that didn’t reflect well on his job, he’d be fired too. He’s not in a union and we live in a work at will state.
So maybe the rules ARE the same?
Amy
07/25/2012
Our company didn’t have a policy, but I was still (just this week!) let go for “badmouthing” them online (which…well, I kind of did, and kind of didn’t…I did it somewhat jokingly, and never used the company’s name, or names of anyone I worked with.)
I guess if they’re going to have a policy, they’d really better start spelling it out, or a lot of companies are going to find themselves open to a lot of lawsuits. What I do in my free time really shouldn’t have any effect on work, as long as I don’t name names, and my blog is anonymous unless people know who I am (and my Twitter is, too, and my FB’s locked down.) They only found out because they installed tracker software on my computer. Which I knew about. And just didn’t care at that point, because I knew they were going to fire me for one thing or another anytime anyway. I’d kind of given up.
I’m pretty sure it’s just a way for jerky companies to weed out people that aren’t happy workers. Good companies would have a sense of humor about it, as long as it wasn’t injurious toward the company, I’d think.
Nichole
07/26/2012
I hate that for you! And you’re right. I think companies need to spell it out. I’ve been told by friends in HR that the entire social networking thing is a nightmare for businesses to deal with. They aren’t really sure where to draw lines or how to draw lines.
Lance
07/26/2012
Like Brahm, I see both sides. But there has to be a line between off and on dutyfor everything.
My company has no set “policy” for social media or blogging. Thus, you see my dumb face and byline everywhere.
My coworkers talk about their the facebook pages as if they were sports teams or something.
I follow 3 rules
1) doesn’t “friend” any coworkers on social media, ever.
2) don’t talk about my job, ever
3) privatize anything I don’t want others to see
Nichole
07/26/2012
I think the way you’re going about it is probably the best thing to do. Even on days when the job is not so up to par.
JennC (@Jennjustruns)
07/26/2012
My students and some of the ridiculous things I’ve heard them say/seen them do have made for some of my best facebook posts. My friends love when I grade exams…there’s always at least one crazy answer that calls for a post.
That being said, I never post any names or any other identifiers, I never post anything that would violate any kind of privacy laws, I’m “friends” with very few co-workers (only the ones that I’m actually friends with in real life), NEVER any students (only former students if they are graduated), and nothing is public. You just have to use common sense…which we all know not everyone has.
I do often vent my frustrations about the education system as a whole, teaching in general, and my job specifically. But there is nothing that I post that I wouldn’t say in person to my supervisor. And I don’t post anything derogatory about students.
Sarah
07/27/2012
Ditto. I do just about everything you say here, and perhaps a little bit more. I’m not anonymous, though. That’s where I draw the line. I’m not going to hide.
That being said, I work for a school with a reasonable, spelled out social media policy. I think that helps immensely. I know the limits, and I know my protections under that policy.
Andrea
07/26/2012
so I used to teach a seminar on how to use social media to get you work and not get fired in the process (or not hired). and the key is that everyone has to set rules for themselves. if you want to post about work, you have to have a private page and can’t friend coworkers (ANY coworkers). if you want a public page or want to friend that cool dude in accounting, you cannot post about work. simple. I never blog about my job, expect maybe incidentally, but my fb is the one place I let off steam about work.