When Can Your Employer 'Unlike' You?: Just Cause for Dismissal and Social Media

• Author: Denis Ellickson and Meg Atkinson
• Pages: 259-280



WhenCanYourEmployer

UnlikeYou

JUSTCAUSEFORDISMISSAL

ANDSOCIALMEDIA

DenisEllicksonandMegAtkinson*

Withinthepastdecadesocialmediahasdrasticallychangedtheways

inwhichpeoplerelateSocialmediaallowsuserstomakestatements

post photosa nds end messages that may be viewed bya w ideaudi-

enceforwardedtoawideraudienceandpermanentlyrecordedThere

aresocialnetworkingsitessuchasFacebookandLinkedInindividual

blogsitesmicrobloggingsiteslikeTwierlesharingsiteslikeFlickr

comchatsitessuchasGmailchatandMSNMessengersitesthatpermit

commentsfromthepublicandmorepeoplecanconnectandsharein

seeminglyinnitewaysMoreovertheincreasinguseofmobilehand

helddeviceswithInternetandsocialmediaimplementsallowsusersto

communicateinstantlyandonthespurofthemomentPeoplenowhave

anunprecendentedabilitytoconnectwithoneanothershareinforma-

tion and issue public statements about any range of things In many

waysweareallmoreconnectedthanweevenknowsomethingthat

canbeabigproblemforemployeeswhenforexampletheiremployers

unexpectedlyviewspostsonFacebookwhichcouldcompromisecon-

tinuedemployment

Thispaperwillexplainhowpostsmadebyemployeesodutybe-

comethesubjectofworkplacedisciplineUsingexamplesfromcaselaw

thepaperwillthendiscussthecontextsinwhichemployershavebeen

* DenisEllicksonisapartneratCaleyWrayandcurrentlychairoftheLabourand

EmploymentSectionoftheOntarioBarAssociationMegAtkinsonarticledat

CaleyWrayandwascalledtothebarin

DEMA

foundtohavejustlyterminatedordisciplinedemployeesforinappro-

priateusagesofsocialmediaincludingpoststhatareinsubordinateto

managersprejudicialorinjurioustotheemployersbusinessoperation

orinviolationofworkplacepoliciesThecaselawdealingwithdiscipline

asitconnectstosocialmediaalsorevealsthatdecisionmakerswillcon-

sideranumberofotherfactorssuchasthenatureoftheemployeesjob

thenumberofpeopleinandoutsidetheworkplacewhodidseeorcould

haveseenthepostthenumberofpostsandmore

Inadditiontoseingoutthesefactorsthispaperwillalsoanalyze

theextenttowhichthesocialmediaanddismissalcaselawdealswith

importantemployeerightssuchasfreespeechtherighttoprivacyand

the employees right to a fair consistent workplacein whic h progres-

sivedisciplineandappropriatewarningsareissuedtoemployeesWhile

thereisnodoubtthatintheageofsocialmediaemployeesmustbe

vigilanttopreventinappropriateinformationfromreachingthewrong

peoplethroughsocialmediathispaperwillarguethatemployersmust

alsobeawareoftheirdutiestoemployeesinusingsocialmediaasatool

for monitoring employeesand controll ing the workplacepart icularly

where such use leads to disciplinary i nterventions The use of social

mediashouldnotderogatefromanemployeesabilitytoleadafreepri-

vateindependentlifeoutsidework

As a preliminar y notemuch of the jur isprudence in the area of

dismissalandsocialmediacomesfromthelabourrelationscontextas

opposedtothecourtbasedemploymentcontextAlthoughthereareob-

viousdierencesbetweenthetwoforumsparticularlywithrespectto

thedecisionmakerspowertoorderremediesmanyoftheworkplace

considerationswillbequitesimilar

AOFFDUTYPOSTINGSONSOCIAL

MEDIASITES

Most of the problematic comments and postings made on social net-

working sites are made by peoplewhen t hey are o dutyGenerally

speaking when employees are o dutythey may carr y on their per-

sonallivesinprivacyandemployersarenotpermiedtoactascustod-

iansoftheiremployeescharacterHowevertherearecircumstancesin

 DonaldJMBrownDavidMBeayChristineDeaconCanadianLabourArbitra

tionlooseleafconsultedonMarchthedAuroraCanadaLawBook

atKamsackTownvCanadianUnionofPublicEmployeesLocal

ErhardtGrievanceLACthPelton