People Fired Due to Blogs: New Policies Needed

[Enquiringkitty]

Sunday, March 6, 2005 Posted: 2:05 PM EST (1905 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- Flight attendant Ellen Simonetti and former Google employee Mark Jen have more in common than their love of blogging: They both got fired over it.

Simonetti had posted suggestive photographs of herself in uniform, while Jen speculated online about his employer's finances. In neither case were their bosses happy when they found out.

Though many companies have Internet guidelines that prohibit visiting porn sites or forwarding racist jokes, few of the policies directly cover blogs, or Web journals, particularly those written outside of work hours.

"There needs to be a dialogue going on between employers and employees," said Heather Armstrong, a Web designer fired for commenting on her blog about goings on at work. "There's this power of personal publishing, and there needs to be rules about what you can or cannot say about the workplace."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/03/06/firedforblogging.ap/index.html

Do you think employers have the right to fire an employee due to his/her blogging habits? Do you think it is discrimination or in any way against the law?

[Wickerman]

1. Interesting also, that the flight attendent has a Cost of Iraq War

calculator on her blog page.

I'm just saying... :shrug:

[Journeyman]

2. It's not blogging, it's "employment at will". . .

that's the true evil in the house. Address the cause, not the symptom, and the symptom becomes a memory.

[NYC]

3. I'll bet it was the uniform.

...Simonetti had posted suggestive photographs of herself in uniform...

That's a no-no. It is not just personal; it involves the company image.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Depends

Were they blogging at work? If they are doing it on their own time, I wouldn't think the employer had a leg to stand on. But if they are supposed to be working and blogging instead, then the employer might have just cause.

[prodigal_green]

5. unfortunately, most of us have to sign

non-disclosure agreements, so speculation about an employer's finances might legally fall under that heading. I don't agree with him being fired, but he might be on legally shakey ground.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I thought about that too

I work for a school district and they sure frown upon us talking to the media about our dirty laundry.

[Enquiringkitty]

7. Most companies have gotten away with a policy of making you

choose between your ethic, or values, or any other view and having a job with them. It's a way of bring you in line with the way they want you to think. After a while, they think you won't "bite the hand that feeds you". A good way of keeping you quiet while they do "business as usual".

[Zynx]

8. Posting "uniform babe" photos is a good way to get fired

So is speculating about your company's finances.