Fired Over Facebook

Fired Over Facebook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCH33TgK8Mw

1.  What is your initial reaction to this story?

I was honestly not surprised by this story. Unfortunately, what we post has the potential to follow us forever, so we have to be conscious of what we are posting. 

2.  What reason did the employer provide for firing this person?

The employer fired Mr Busch because he expressed opinion on the shooting in Tuscan. He defended the woman that was shot, but the company was uncomfortable with the fact that he publicly took an opinion. 

3.  Was the firing legal?  Why?

It is legal because employers have the right to snoop on people’s social media pages as long as they are public. If they find something that they consider objectionable, they can act as they see fit. If you are not working for the government, you generally have no free speech rights. 

4.  What do you think is meant by the term Digital Footprint?

A digital footprint is the trail that you leave behind while using the internet. There is no paper trail, but there is still evidence of almost everything that you do on the internet. 

5.  Are the things you post on Facebook and Twitter really private, even if you set your privacy settings to maximum?

Unfortunately, nothing is private. Even if every privacy setting is set to a maximum, a friend on Facebook, or a follower on Instagram, could screenshot your page and share with whomever they please. 

6.  It is clear the man in the video did not think the comments he made on Facebook would get him fired. If you were his friend and he told you what he was planning to post before he actually made the post, what would your advice have been to him? Why?

My advice to Glenn Busch would be, make sure everything is locked down and keep posting opinions on polarizing topics to a minimum. 

Fired Day-Care Worker: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/04/day-care-employee-fired-for-facebook-post-noting-she-hates-being-around-a-lot-of-kids/

1.  What is your initial reaction to this story?

My initial reaction was that I was not surprised that she got fired, and I am glad that she did. She somewhat, told on herself, when she posted about her dislike for children, so when people saw that she worked at a daycare, they took action to remove her from those children. This is a case where I am glad that people post stupid things because if she had kept her hatred for children to herself, she would still be working with them and that could not be safe. 

2.  What reason did the employer provide for firing this person?

The employer was a children’s daycare and they fired this person because she posted a status stating that she hates working at a daycare and hates being around a lot of kids. The child hating deemed her unfit for the job.

3.  Was the firing legal?  Why?

The firing was legal because she was deemed unfit for the job. He status was also public and got many shares, so the employer was able to easily see it.