Spend any time on social media, and you may find someone who made an inflammatory comment. People identify that person and contact the employer, either threatening a boycott or simply making the company aware. While believing they have the right to free speech, those workers end up losing their jobs for making that comment.

Most people have social media, whether it’s TikTok and Twitch or Facebook and Instagram. What you post and comment on social media reflects you, and if people find out where you work, it can also reflect on your company’s values.

Where does the line between free speech and workplace social media policies cross? Can you really lose your job for making an inflammatory comment or engaging in bad behavior on social media?

Real-Life Stories Where People Lost Their Jobs

Here’s the reality. Only 12% of hiring managers believe social media posts are not grounds for firing employees. The remaining 88% would fire an employee for what is said on social media. It happens more often than you might realize. Here are just six cases of people losing their jobs because of social media.

1. Posts Following Charlie Kirk’s Death

Several people lost their jobs after making posts related to Charlie Kirk’s death. One of them was the DEI director at UCLA. He believed his right to free speech was violated when he was fired for saying he was “glad Kirk died.”  He’s filing a lawsuit for wrongful termination.

A deputy in Missouri commended “Empathy is not owed to oppressors,” and “I refuse to feel bad for this man, and the hateful things he stood for.” Public outcry led to her termination from the county sheriff’s office.

She wasn’t alone. It’s estimated that more than 600 Americans lost their jobs for statements they made against Kirk. Many of those terminations are pending court hearings for wrongful termination.

2. Racial Comments at Family Dollar

A Family Dollar employee lost her job after she said something about a Black shopper. She spoke in Spanish, thinking he couldn’t understand her, but he did and filmed it. The video went viral, and she lost her job for discriminatory comments about a customer.

3. A Director’s Tweet Impacted InterActive Corp

The communications director for the American holding company, which has a portfolio of many popular digital brands, lost her job over a spur-of-the-moment tweet about Africa and AIDS. She posted to X (Twitter), boarded the plane, and turned back on her phone when she’d landed to discover her tweet wasn’t taken lightly.

Although she apologized for her insensitive comment, she was still fired. The company’s statement said, “There is no excuse for the hateful statements that have been made, and we condemn them unequivocally.”

4. Mocking Employees Impact Sutter Health

Several healthcare workers at a Santa Barbara urgent care clinic lost their jobs after filming and posting videos mocking patients for the fluids they left behind on exam tables. The administration fired them for violating patient trust. 

5. Joking Threats From a Nurse for VCU Health

A nurse posted a series of TikTok videos about using syringes filled with anesthetics to temporarily paralyze ICE agents and other ways to “make their lives miserable.” Though she took down the videos, it wasn’t enough to save her job. The organization terminated her employment.

6. Political Views Upset Walt Disney and Lucasfilm

Celebrities are also having their jobs taken away for the posts they make on social media. Gina Carano lost her job on “The Mandalorian” after making political posts. She filed a complaint asking for financial compensation or reinstatement. Eventually, Disney and Lucasfilm settled.

The Realities of Your First Amendment Rights and At-Will Employment

Across much of the U.S., including California, at-will employment is the norm. Just as you can leave a job without notice or reason, employers can terminate your position without notice or reason. The only protection you may have comes down to what’s in the employee handbook or collective bargaining agreement if you’re a union worker.

In those cases, both you and your employer must follow the rules for termination or resignation. If two weeks’ notice is required, you must give that much notice, and vice versa.

What’s important to remember about the First Amendment is that it protects citizens from government discipline or interference. It doesn’t protect citizens from disciplinary actions by private employers. Employers should have policies in place to clarify what is and isn’t allowed. If they don’t, you should ask whether there are any policies and what they are.

If a social media post or video harms a company’s reputation or violates company policies or terms outlined in employee handbooks, you can lose your job. It’s why it’s very important to use caution when making comments or posting videos on social media. What you say can impact your job, even if you truly feel that way.

Even if your posts or videos are set to private, someone else could take them and share them. If it goes viral from someone else’s post, you’re still at risk of losing your job. That’s why it’s often better not to post something that could be taken the wrong way or oppose your employer’s ethics and beliefs. 

Unlike other states, California offers more employee protections for off-duty posts and activities.

Specific Protections in California

California’s Labor Code § 2922 allows employers to fire workers for any reason or without giving a reason, and no notice is required. The exceptions do cover contract terms and illegal reasons, such as discrimination, retaliation, or violations of public policy (e.g., whistleblowing or refusing to commit an illegal act).

You could lose your job for certain types of posts, though. Comments like these are all grounds for termination.

• Breaches of confidentiality, such as sharing trade secrets or company-only information
• Bullying, discriminatory, or threatening posts against coworkers, customers, or administration
• Making negative comments about your employer, customers, or management.

You’re protected against off-duty posts and activities, however. This provides you with protection from termination for making off-duty posts like photos of you at a rally against ICE or comments about disliking the racist behaviors of a celebrity or well-known politician. You cannot lose your job for that.

You cannot be fired if your social media post was related to working conditions, wage discussions, or union organizing. Off-duty activities, such as participating in a political rally, are not a justification for your termination. You should talk to an employment law attorney if you were fired for posts of that nature.

Talk to the legal team at Shegerian Conniff about your termination. We’ll help you understand if your employer was justified or if you have a valid wrongful termination complaint. Consultations are free, and you’ll have honest insights into your complaint and what you should do next.