Can My Employer Terminate Me Because of Something I Post on Social Media or My Personal Website Outside of Work?

Do you post on social media, or make regular updates to your own personal website? Regardless of whether your social media accounts are public, you may have concerns about whether your employer can use information you post against you. Or, more specifically, you may be wondering if your employer is legally allowed to terminate you based on information you have posted on social media. There is no general answer to this question. Instead, it depends on your employment relationship and the type of information you posted that resulted in your termination. Our Palm Beach Gardens wrongful termination lawyers can explain in more detail.

Employment Relationship and At-Will Employees

Whether or not you can be terminated for something you post on social media may depend in part on your employment relationship. In short, are you an at-will employee, or do you have an employment contract?

Employees with contracts that outline their position and duties often have clauses in their contracts that identify reasons that they can be terminated. For at-will employees, any employee who is not working under the terms of an employment contract in Florida, it is possible for an employer to terminate you at any time for any reason, as long as there is no discrimination.

Nature of Social Media Posts

Now, it is important to consider the nature of your social media posts. If they are political, or state your opinions about matters that do not involve protected classes or identities (such as race, religion, sex, gender) and your employer simply does not like your social media posts, if you are an at-will employee, it is likely that your employer can legally fire you.

If you have expressed opinions on social media or your personal website about the status of a protected class, or have identified yourself as a member of a protected class, your employer likely cannot terminate you for your online words or images because your employer would be in violation of state or federal laws that prohibit certain types of discrimination. To be clear, however, if your own social media posts engage in discriminatory language or behavior, your employer likely can fire you; you would only be dealing with a potential wrongful termination case if your employer discriminated against you based on your posts.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Wrongful Termination Lawyer for Assistance

If you were terminated from your job because of information you posted on your social media accounts or on your personal website, it is important to seek legal advice about whether you were wrongfully terminated. As we discussed above, in an at-will employment relationship, employers can terminate employees at any time and for any reason as long as the termination does not violate existing discrimination laws. Yet just because you are an at-will employee does not mean that your termination was necessarily lawful. One of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens wrongful termination attorneys at Sconzo Law Office can talk with you today to learn more about the details of your firing, and to help you understand your options for filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Source:

legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/insights/articles/what-is-at-will-employment