When is it fair for an employer to fire an employee for the contents of a personal Facebook post?

• When the post harms the business, impugns the integrity of its staff or business practices, or otherwise affects the reputation of the company in the community.
• When the post indicates that the poster lied to a superior.
• When the post raises legitimate doubts about the poster’s fitness for a job, either in the minds of potential client and customers, or in the judgment of employers.
• When the post is sufficiently  disreputable and offensive to the community at large that it raises the question of whether any company that hires or has such an individual in a position of authority can or should be trusted.
• When the post shows poor judgement of such a degree that it reaches signature significance, and legitimately causes an employer to doubt the stability, sanity, or trustworthiness of the poster. Continue reading →