Currently, I´m taking a course of
“international legal English”. That course is providing me with some
interesting material for this blog. Like, e.g., the text below.
Please kids, be careful with what you post in
your blogs if you don’t want to be terminated!
Derogatory blog posts result in a
justified dismissal.
An Alberta arbitration board has
recently released a decision concerning the dismissal of an employee as a
result of the contents of the employee's online blog site. In this case, an
administrative employee in the Alberta Public Service (the "Grievor")
was dismissed after the employer became aware of the contents of her personal
blog.
The Grievor's blog contained unflattering
comments about a number of her co-workers and management, referring to them as
"imbeciles," "idiot savants," and “lunatic-in-charge.” After
an investigation, the Grievor was interviewed about her blog. Perceiving the
Grievor as largely unrepentant, the employer terminated the Grievor's
employment.
The employer took the position
that the contents of the blog postings and the Grievor's lack of remorse and
understanding as to why the blog had been so offensive undermined the
employment relationship irreparably, thereby justifying the Grievor's
termination. This was especially so, in the employer's view, in a department
that handled sensitive cases and whose well-publicized values emphasized
respect, fairness, and co-operation.
The Grievor's union, in
challenging the dismissal, argued that the employer had overreacted, that the
Grievor's attempts at an apology had been derailed by management, and that the
Grievor had a previously unblemished record of six years' service. As a remedy,
the union sought reinstatement with appropriate compensation. The employer
replied that in a relatively small workplace, it would be very unfair to the
Grievor's co-workers for the Grievor to be reinstated in her employment.
In a 2-1 decision, the
Arbitration Board denied the grievance and upheld the dismissal. The Board concluded
that "while the Grievor has a right to create personal blogs and is
entitled to her opinions about the people with whom she works, publicly
displaying those opinions may have consequences within an employment
relationship." The Board was satisfied that the Grievor, in expressing
contempt for her managers, ridiculing her co-workers, and denigrating
administrative processes, engaged in serious misconduct that irreparably
severed the employment relationship, thereby justifying discharge. Employees
cannot simply invoke freedom of speech to publicly make derogatory comments
online about co-workers or management or to disclose confidential information
obtained in the course of employment.
