Social Media as a Job Killer?

I recently participated in a comment war via a local newspaper the other day because the editors posted an article stating that they felt that people should be careful what they post on Facebook and other social media sites because employers are monitoring these sites and either terminating employment or not hiring people based on what is found. I say BULLSHIT. This smacks of discrimination and NO ONE seems to be objecting to it. In fact, several people chastised me for saying that employers do not have the right to terminate employment based on social media posts, especially if those posts are not made while the employee is at work. Many people seemed to think it was OK to fire someone or not hire them if they posted that they got "wasted" on the weekend or posted too many swear words, apparently accepting that discrimination is OK if you agree with it. If these same people were excluded, or terminated, from employment due to something they said or posted on the internet, they would scream bloody murder. The haters also criticized me for posting information online and then expecting privacy. First and foremost, I don't post anything and then expect privacy. What I DO expect is FREEDOM OF SPEECH - you know, the FIRST AMENDMENT in a little thing called the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

I do agree that anyone posting anything on the internet should have no expectation of privacy, and probably should have more sense than to post that their boss sucks big green donkey dicks. However, we all have the right to say what we want, and as long as it's legal and we're not at work when we're saying or posting questionable or tasteless rhetoric, our employer does NOT have the right to terminate employment or exclude anyone from employment because of it.

It sets an extremely dangerous precedent to say that employers have the right to terminate employment or exclude people from being hired based on what they post on social media. Why? Because we then give permission to discriminate. You're thinking, "I don't post anything offensive." But do you post that you're female? Do you post what your religion is? Do you post that you belong to the Red Hat Society? Do you post pictures of your kids? What if an employer was allowed to exclude potential candidates because they don't want to hire someone with a bunch of kids, fearing that person will call in sick too much? What if your employer decides to terminate your employment because they found out you're a member of AARP and they feel that you're too old to work? Or terminates your employment because they found out you're a member of a different religion from them (or - horror or horrors - an Atheist)? What if an employer excludes you as a potential candidate because they saw a picture on Facebook that shows you're in a wheelchair? It's bad enough that employers are excluding candidates for other ludicrous reasons such as wearing too big of a diamond ring to an interview - let's not give them any more excuses to be assholes.