The Members Forum

A few weeks back I wrote about the case of a woman who got fired for saying her boss was a jerk (and worse) on Facebook ("Careful what you say on Facebook - the boss is watching"). In that case, the National Labor Relations Board had filed a suit arguing that the employee's comment were protected by the National Labor Relations Act, as her termination could be interpreted as suppressing union organizing activities.

I know what you're thinking. "What about freedom of speech? Doesn't she have the Constitutionally protected right to say anything she pleases?"

I sought some clarification on employment law from attorney Ronald H. Shechtman, managing partner at Pryor Cashman LLP in New York. You won't like the answers he had to give.

First, those First Amendment rights you think you have? They only apply to the government suppressing your right to free expression. They don't apply to a private employer, a private club, your spouse, or anyone else.

"We check our First Amendment rights at the door when we enter private employment," says Shechtman. "If a lawyer in my office wants to put up a political poster on his door saying vote for Sarah Palin or Barak Obama, there's nothing that stops his employer from saying ‘No you don't'."

The exception: If you work for a Federal or state agency, they can't fire you merely for something you say, because they're legally bound to follow the Constitution. (Though I'm sure they could find another reason if they wanted to.)

In almost every state in the US you're hired "at will," which means an employer can fire you for almost any reason, unless it violates some other law -- like the Civil Rights Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act -- or the terms of an employment contract.

Another exception: If you say something like "my company makes products that contain toxic chemicals" and you get fired, you may be protected under whistleblower statutes -- but only if you happen to work in an industry or live in a state that has them.

PC World has the details HERE!