QUESTION

Can an employer of a private agency fire an employee based on Facebook activity?

Asked on Jul 01st, 2013 on Employment Contracts - Georgia
More details to this question:
I recently made a post about the selling of expired products and my own consumption of said item without knowledge of the expiration. Am I protected by the first amendment or any prior cases from termination?
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1 ANSWER

Appellate Practice Attorney serving New York, NY
No.  With the exception of the prohibition against slavery, the Constitution only prohibits government action, not action by private parties.  Moreover, while the First Amendment may give you an absolute right to say something, it usually doesn't shield you from the consequences of what you have said - for example, you can be sued for libel or slander if you make a false and defamatory statement about someone. While this is not a matter of Constitutional law, that doesn't mean that some other, lesser, statute might not protect you.   For example, many jurisdictions have "whistleblower" statutes which protect employees from being fired for disclosing serious wrongdoing by their employers.  If  the expired product was sold by your employer, and there was a serious health risk inherent in selling it, Georgia might have a whistleblower statute which applied (although it would be more likely if you were fired for reporting the circumstances to a government health agency rather than Facebook.)  In general, however, absent a statute (i.e. statutes which prohibit firing bases on race) or a contract providing otherwise (such as an employment agreement defining the only reasons you could be fired; sometimes an employee handbook can be sufficient for this purpose) , employees can be fired for any reason. 
Answered on Jul 02nd, 2013 at 12:55 PM

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