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Say John Doe works for a company and, on his own time, with his own computer, writes a blistering editorial to the local paper, criticizing company policies. Or posts a Facebook status (again, on his on time) ripping them or complaining about his job.
When the boss gets word of it, can he legally fire Mr. Doe for speaking his mind? Does the First Amendment apply?
I've often heard it said that, "You have freedom of speech as far as criticizing the government goes, but you don't have a right to a job with a company."
If Doe is accusing his employer of doing something illegal then he might be protected by whistleblower laws. But if he is just griping about them, they have every right to fire him.
If you owned a company, would you want an employee going out and harming your business? And, yes, the first amendment only protects you from retribution by the government.
I'm not really sure a precedence has been set. But I know that my company made us go through a training module that explained that we should be careful what we post on social media.
Honestly, someone will probably sue over it eventually. But with the whole "at will" employment, who knows if they'll get very far. Companies are now allowed to fire without reason.
I've often heard it said that, "You have freedom of speech as far as criticizing the government goes, but you don't have a right to a job with a company."
You know what?
Everybody, no matter what position they are, should take criticism given by anyone, whether they are in charge of them or not.
I find it real ironic how students can't criticize their school teachers, yet they have to go through a scream of butthurt when they do the slightest disrespectful thing that could be solved with a 'please' and 'thank you', or at least with a kind tone.
I'm not talking about, tell them what to do. I'm talking about criticizing the policies and how strict the employer/teacher/administrator is being. The main goal of work is to make students/employees enjoy themselves while at school or work. Like it or not, proper criticism CAN help the business or school become a better place if the manager/teacher/principal gave a flying nosehorn about what students had to say to them.
You bet! There's even a word for it - you got Dooced! The word originated with probably the most famous case for this happening, Heather B. Armstrong of dooce.com. From her About Page...
Quote:
In February 2001, I launched dooce.com as a place to write about pop culture, music, and my life as a single woman. I never expected more than a couple of dozen people to read it. A year later I was fired from my job for this website because I had written stories that included people in my workplace. My advice to you is BE YE NOT SO STUPID. Never write about work on the internet unless your boss knows and sanctions the fact that YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT WORK ON THE INTERNET. If you are the boss, however, you should be aware that when you order Prada online and then talk about it out loud that you are making it very hard for those around you to take you seriously. About | dooce®
And from Wikipedia...
Quote:
In 2002, Armstrong ignited a fierce debate about privacy issues when she was allegedly fired from her job as a web designer and graphic artist because she had written satirical accounts of her experiences at a dot-com startup on her personal blog, dooce.com.
Quote:
"Dooced" can mean "getting fired for something you've written on your website," a sense supported by the Urban Dictionary,[8] and humorously disavowed by Armstrong in her blog's FAQ.[9] This definition was used by the television game show Jeopardy! on December 10, 2009, as evidenced by a screenshot on her blog the following day. Heather Armstrong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Now, I'm just throwing this out there for the sake of argument. People are going with the argument that it's not fair to the business to be criticized, which in turn, could make them lose business. But isn't that essentially what sites like Glassdoor, Yelp, and other miscellaneous review sites allow you to do?
Heck, I just posted a negative review for a dentist that I recently visited on Yelp. Should the dentist be able to come back and sue me for the negative feedback that could potentially harm his business?
I agree that if you're sharing company secrets, then you should be fired, or at the very least, warned and written up. But as far as criticizing a certain process or business practice...don't we do that just about every day, whether it be the poor customer service we received from a restaurant, or the dirty bathrooms at Walmart.
I think, in America, we tend to have a double standard for businesses and individuals. We tend to give businesses a pass on their wrongdoings, because they are looked at as providing more value to society than John Doe. We can bash John Doe all we want on Facebook, but god forbid you say something negative about a company you work for.
Anyway, that's just my two cents. Anyone have something to add to that? Any counter points, something I missed, etc.?
Your dentist isn't paying you, your employer is. The employer is going to have a higher level of expectation for people they pay.
I don't see it as first amendment infringement. You're free to say what you want about the company. The first amendment doesn't guarantee that there won't be private, non-governmental consequences for what you say though.
Your dentist isn't paying you, your employer is. The employer is going to have a higher level of expectation for people they pay.
I don't see it as first amendment infringement. You're free to say what you want about the company. The first amendment doesn't guarantee that there won't be private, non-governmental consequences for what you say though.
True. I suppose if you have a legitimate criticism about employment with a company, you can always go to sites like jobvent or Glassdoor.com. As long as you're not flying off the handle with rude comments about the company, and your criticism is of legitimate concern for someone considering working there, you should be alright.
An example is when I reviewed my last employer on Glassdoor and commented on how there was no room for career growth within the company. That, I would assume, is a legitimate criticism that you could post with no repercussion or consequence.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
As stated above, the First Amendment guarantees people five rights: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.
Regarding speech, the First Amendment guarantees people the right to speak freely without government interference.
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