Missouri is an “at-will” employment state. This means an employer can fire you for any reason or no reason. The employer, however, cannot fire you for an illegal reason (e.g. age, race, gender, etc.). With this, an employer can fire an employee for an online post. A post, no matter how innocent, bland or uneventful can be grounds for termination. There is a caveat: the employer must treat people in the same manner. That is, if a woman is terminated for a social media post, her male counterpart must be terminated as well for a similar post. Treating employees inconsistently can be an indication of discrimination.
J.C. Pleban spoke with KMOV News about a woman who was fired for a video that went viral. Check out the video on KMOV.com.
Discrimination in the workplace can be a fact-intensive analysis. The difference between a good termination and a discriminatory one for social media post or viral videos depends on the facts. Each case is different. Please call the lawyers at Pleban & Associates (314.645.6666) or email us (info@plebanlaw.com) if you believe you have been the victim of workplace discrimination.