Fired for a Facebook "Like?" Posted by AVCU on 9:51 AM

The small business resource website "Open Forum" reported on the story of a town sheriff running for re-election firing employees for "liking" his election opponent on Facebook. The employees sued the sheriff for violating their first amendment rights, but the sheriff justified his firings as cost-cutting, and that the dismissed  deputies "hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office" in their support of the sheriff's opponent.

The court sided with the sheriff in saying that "merely liking a Facebook page is insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection. In cases where courts have found that constitutional speech protections extended to Facebook posts, actual statements existed in the record."

On the other hand, there are many stories about employee dismissals due to Facebook posts being reversed by a court of law. Most of those cases, however, involve derogatory Facebook posts by the employee about the employer. Such statements, in the opinion of some courts, is protected under the right to free speech. As in all employment cases, seek the advice of legal counsel before using something seen on Facebook as the basis for dismissal.

Read "Can You Fire Someone for a Facebook 'Like'?" here.