Tips for Dealing with Employees Whose Social Media Posts Reflect Badly on Your Company

In early February 2015, a Texas pizzeria owner “terminated” an employee before she’d even had her first day of work after she tweeted vulgarities about her future job. In January 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that a Mississippi police sergeant, fired in 2012 after she posted Facebook comments criticizing her police chief, had no First Amendment protections for her statements. And in December 2014, Nordstrom fired an Oregon employee who had posted a Facebook comment seeming to advocate violence against white police officers. So, are employees’ off-duty social media postings fair grounds for termination? They can be—but be sure to keep the following tips in mind.