Social networks increasingly leading to questionable firings

For many, Facebook and MySpace are places for people to hang out, make stupid comments for their friends to see, post pictures of themselves as teenagers, and waste hours on end playing mindless games. Naturally, it's also becoming a popular place where countless users go to complain about their jobs, a natural extension of the dinner table and the beer hall where mindless chatter is the norm and consequences are nil.

Now some employers are starting to have their hackles raised by such comments, and in a few cases complaining about one's workplace has led to the person making the comments getting promptly fired from his job. (Now imagine how much they'll have to complain about!)

The latest story involves two employees at a Houston's restaurant who used a private, invitation-only forum on MySpace to complain about management and customers at the establishment. The restaurant's hostess showed the forum to her boss after hours one night; she said they both "had a laugh" about it and promptly forgot the subject entirely. But later another supervisor caught wind of the site, demanded to be shown the forum, and eventually that got the duo responsible for the messages fired.

According to Houston's, the pair violated policies (including a requirement to have "a positive attitude") in the company's employee handbook, while the fired employees contend in their lawsuit against the company that management broke the law by reading their private conversation. They even allege a violation of federal wiretapping laws. The trial starts in June.

This is hardly the first time comments on social networking sites have gotten someone in trouble. 13 Virgin Atlantic flight attendants were fired for mocking passengers on Facebook. One teenager was sacked for changing her status to reading "bored at work." And one woman also was recently fired for claiming to be too sick to use a computer but who was then caught updating her Facebook page from home.

Social networks can even keep you from getting a job in the first place, as one woman learned when she Twittered about a weighing a "fatty paycheck" vs. "hating the work" at her would-be employer, Cisco. The company promptly found out about the tweet, with likely predictable results and great embarrassment for the tweeter.

Where do we draw the line here? While I can sympathize with the company who fired the woman for lying about being too sick to use a PC, the question of online employee complaints -- particularly those on a private forum not accessible to the general public -- is far murkier. Laws vary by country and by state, but as the WSJ notes, for the most part an employer can fire anyone for no reason at all. However some states explicitly prohibit employers from firing someone for engaging in "lawful, off-duty activities." Presuming the comments weren't made from work, the Houston's duo may have a reasonably strong case here. Seriously: If everyone who ever complained about their job or had a bad attitude got fired, we'd have 100% unemployment.

Bottom line: Now more than ever, your boss is probably watching you whether you're on the clock or off it. Take some time to understand your company's policy toward social networking and blogging, whether you agree with it or not, so you won't be caught off guard the next time this issue hits the news.