Think your boss has no idea what you are doing online? Think again. Randall Stross has an interesting piece in the New York Times titled “How To Lose Your Job on Your Own Time,” where he points out the growing trend of employees losing their jobs based on inappropriate or unprofessional online content. Stross notes that the nature of the internet grants increased visibility to off-the-clock activities and employers are taking an interest in what workers post online.
“Many companies are using the Internet to snoop on their employees. If you fail to maintain amorphous ‘professional’ standards of conduct in your free time, you could lose your job.”
He goes on to state that the courts are far behind the internet in this matter.
“‘Employment law in most states provides little protection to workers who are punished for their online postings,’ said George Lenard, an employment lawyer at Harris Dowell Fisher & Harris in St. Louis.”
With the lack of legal recourse available to workers, employees are finding that poorly chosen words or photos posted online can lead to termination. Last year, a woman lost her teaching credentials and was dismissed from her teaching position at a Pennsylvania High School when administrators found her MySpace profile photo.
The incriminating snapshot, taken off school grounds and after working hours is “surprisingly innocuous” yet still lead to life altering consequences. In it, the woman wears a pirate hat and holds a large plastic cup. She labeled the pic “drunken pirate” and school officials said that her posting the photo online constituted a breach of professional standards and promoted underage drinking. The terminated teacher, in turn, filed suit against her former employer. No trial date has been set.
As we have seen often of late, online identity management is now a key component of working in the digital age for professionals in any field. ReputationDefender is the leader in Online Reputation Management.
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