Firing Employees for Their Social Media Posts: Ethical and Legal Issues

Abstract

This business case provides a hypothetical set of facts in which an employee uses social media to complain about an employer. The employee made the complaints on his own time and using personal equipment. The student is placed in the role of a restaurant manager, who must navigate the ethical and legal boundaries of workplace speech and company social media policies, by interacting with social media and human resources professionals and with the very employee posting questionable content on social media. This case also has students explore perspectives on workplace privacy issues, and whether employees are responsible for their actions while off company time and on personal equipment.