A Negative Facebook Post by a Restaurant Employee

Jeffrey Dretler was quoted on Boston.com on March 2, 2015. The article “A Negative Facebook Post by a Restaurant Employee” discussed if an employee could be terminate due a negative post about their employer’s food on Facebook.

Jeffrey said, “The Free Speech clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does protect your right to speak your mind, but your employer also has a right not to employ workers that are openly critical of its product which could lead to a loss of business or hurt its reputation. The Free Speech clause does provide some protection to a public sector employee who speaks out in his or her individual capacity about a matter of public concern, but that does not seem applicable to your situation."

Jeffery offered some sage advice, "When posting comments on social media remember that speech or conduct on social media enjoys just as much, or just as little, protection as other kinds of speech or conduct. The risk, and benefit, of social media is that content is often widely disseminated, even when you may have intended to only share it with your 'Friends' or contacts. If you wouldn’t say it to your employer directly, the best practice is to think twice before posting it on social media."

To read the full article, please visit Boston.com.

This article was picked up by The Boston Globe on March 15, 2015.