Is it legal if my manager is trying to get me fired for a status post I made online?
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Is it legal if my manager is trying to get me fired for a status post I made online?
I have a salaried manager who requested me on Facebook and I accepted her requestcause I thought it would get me on her good side. I didn’t think it was right that she would request me on Facebook because it was a blatent violation of the company’s fraternization policies. Is this legal?
Asked on December 25, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Washington
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you accepted her request then you allowed her to view your posts; you may therefore suffer the consequences for what you say online, as long as how the manager saw the post/comment was legal (e.g. the manager did not "hack" your account; did not lie and pretend to be someone else to get you to "friend" her; etc.), the same as you could suffer the consequences for what you say in an email which was sent to the manager, or what you said orally/verbally in conversation, etc. People can be held accountable for what they say.
The violation of the fraternization policy may get the manager in trouble with upper management, but legally, it does not help you if fired; the law does not enforce companies' internal anti-fraternatization policies, so even if she violated it, she can still take action for what you posted.
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