The government has given all the citizens of the U.S. the right to freedom of speech. This means that you can always state your opinion in person or on social media, and you cannot be arrested or legally punished for that.
This right guarantees us freedom of speech without legal consequences. However, that does not mean that your employer won’t be offended by your beliefs and opinions.
When faced with such mistreatment, you often find yourself looking up “Employment discrimination lawyer near me.” But before that, it is essential to make sure if you were indeed fired for an illegitimate reason or not.
Is it possible to get fired for your social media posts?
People can often take other people’s opinions personally. An employer may find your statement offensive and decide to terminate you from the job. This is, however, illegal. The U.S. constitution has given us this privilege, and you would be well within your rights to practice it.
According to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, every citizen of the United States is legally allowed to express their thoughts and opinions. An employee cannot fire you for illegal reasons. But then again, it raises the question- what is legal and what is not?
Illegal reasons
Private companies who wish to maintain their reputation on social media have rules about what an employee of the company can or cannot post. However, they cannot fire you for posting:
- Information about your age, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disability, genetic information, and national origin.
- Political opinions or favoring a different political party than them.
- About employment rights and educating your co-workers about it.
- Encouraging posts to take legal steps against their employers when faced with injustice.
- Statements about you having to work in an unsafe environment.
An employer may control what to post on social media, but they cannot stop or fire you from stating the truth.
Legal reasons
While social media is considered a safe place to express your opinions to your friends, family, and colleagues, it is important to avoid sharing content that may be false or misleading or tearing a person’s reputation without evidence. These are a few things you can get fired for.
- Posting offensive remarks or using offensive slurs on social media that attack a specific race, religion, belief, etc.
- Releasing confidential information about your company or your co-worker.
- Posting negative comments or making fun of your company’s clients.
- Posting false information about your company or boss.
- Posting evidence of committing an illegal activity, such as vandalizing government property.
- Lying to your employer and then posting about it.
Whether your employer can or cannot terminate you for your social media posts is complex and requires professional help. Contact Carey & Associates, P.C. to find the best employment discrimination, lawyer.
