Facebook:  Think Before You Post

Facebook is the number one social networking website on the planet.  It has proven a great resource for people to stay in touch with long distance relatives, to reconnect with old friends, and to stay current on people’s lives.  Until recently, none of us had ever expected that posting about various amusements of life could cost us our jobs.  

Here’s a list of 25 Facebook Posts That Have Gotten People Fired, but we narrowed down the list to those that were the most interesting, to say the least.

1. An intern for a bank told his boss that he would not be able to come to work due to a family emergency.  He posted a picture of himself dressed up as a fairy at a Halloween party, which led to his termination.
2. Caitlin Davis, a former cheerleader for the New England Patriots, posted pictures of herself defacing a random guy’s face with a lewd figure and racist language.  
3. Kimberley Swann worked at her new job, and was posting on Facebook about how boring it was.  Within three weeks, her post was discovered by management and she was let go.
4. Dan Leone, a former stadium employee for the Philadelphia Eagles, was fired after calling the Eagles “retarted” for allowing Brian Dawkins leave the team to sign up with the Denver Broncos.
5. Ashley Payne, a high school teacher in Georgia, posted pictures of herself drinking at the Guinness Brewery in Ireland.  The school board decided the images were enough grounds to fire her, but she resigned.  In turn, she sued the school district.
6. Dawnmarie Souza, an ambulance worker, was asked by her boss to look into a complaint about her work with a particular patient.  Being upset by her boss’ request, she vented about him on Facebook calling him a “scumbag” and another choice name.  She broke the company’s policy about not posting anything on Facebook without permission, and was therefore let go.
7. Within days after the University of Alabama shooting, Gloria Gadsden, a professor at East Stroudsburg University, created a stir when she posted this on her Facebook page:  “Does anyone know where I can find a very discreet hitman?  Yes, it’s been that kind of day.”  The university terminated her immediately.
8. Ashley Johnson, a former waitress at Brixx Pizza, went on Facebook to complain about customers who gave her a $5 tip.  Her post was printed out and given to her when she was terminated within a couple of days.
9. Dana Kuchler of Wisconsin was already close to losing her job.  But when she took to Facebook to post about her drug problem, writing that she was “addicted to vicodin, adderall, quality marijuana, MD 20/20 grape and absinthe,” she was terminated shortly after.
10. June Talvitie-Siple, a teacher at Cohasset High School, took to Facebook to describe her students as “germ bags” and to complain about parents who were “arrogant” and “snobby.”  A couple of parents informed the superintendent, who soon asked for the teacher’s resignation.
11. Chadwin Reynolds, a former High School of the Arts teacher, would often friend request his female students and comment inappropriately on their photos, such as, “This is sexy.”  He had no problem posting sexually charged statements, including “I’m not a gynecologist, but I’ll look inside.” When the Board of Education got word, he was terminated.
12. Senior Cpl. Cat Lafitte from Dallas, bragged on Facebook about how she dealt with a hospital orderly: ““I threw my boot at him, Jerry Springer style, and nailed him in the face. It broke his glasses and cut his face and bruised it up real good!”  She also referred to herself as a “Bum Roller,” a slang term for police officers who deal with the homeless.  She was terminated from the Dallas Police Department, and an investigation was opened regarding the hospital incident.
13. Stephanie Bon, a human resource employee at Lloyd’s Banking Group, was upset about the new CEO’s salary, and went on Facebook to vent about it.  “LBG’s new CEO gets £4,000 an hour. I get £7. That’s fair.”  That’s about 21 million dollars.  Publicly divulging her boss’ salary ultimately got her fired.

The 1st District Court of Appeal decided in a criminal case that a Facebook post could be considered a “sending” for the purposes of the “sending written threats to kill or do bodily harm” law, a second-degree felony.

At the law offices of Gilbert and Smallman, we encourage you to contact us today for a free initial consultation, to hear how we can assist you in providing criminal defense services.