Fired for Blogging
Via Universal Hub, retail employee fired for blogging. This is not uncommon, but notable in that the blog had no work-related content nor, apparently, was it done on work time:
Drew started his own personal blog. On it he did not mention Mercenary, did not link to Mercenary, did not sell or offer any products or services that might be construed as competing with Mercenary. It just wasn’t about Mercenary. He didn’t even use his own name.
His boss learned about the blog when coworkers passed around the posting with the adorable photo of his newborn son. His boss then fired Drew by leaving him a voicemail that Drew picked up when he got home from the hospital.
Although my employment law is rusty, I doubt the employee has a colorable claim against his previous employer. (Private employment is generally not subject to any First Amendment protections.) Any change here is going to need to be more cultural than legal. Ten (maybe even five) years from now, I suspect people will wonder what all the fuss was about.
(Some have suggested that the blogger was actually fired for having a baby. If that is true, it likely would be actionable.)
[tags] Blogging, Employment, Free Speech[/tags]
Baptiste Mar 16
I don’t know much about US employement law, but in my book, firing someone for the way he lives outside the work is called discrimination. That should be actionable in any reasonable juridiction.
Adam Gaffin Mar 16
The employer’s posted his side of the story in the thread.