Close on the heels of a few state laws barring employers from demanding login passwords to employee Facebook accounts comes another ruling about the social network's role in the workplace—even after the employee ceases to work there.
Danielle Mailhoit claims that her firing from a managerial position with Home Depot was the result of discrimination due to gender and a medical condition (she suffers from vertigo). U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal ruled that a company's request for access to Mailhoit's social media content posted during her 5 years with the company was overboard, but she did allow access to posts in which the plaintiff discussed her job and messages sent to fellow employees.
The verdict is a warning to employees everywhere: Your employer may be able to request access to posts about your job, even if they were originally private messages. Although companies don't yet have the court's blessing for broader access to social media posts, Facebook users would do well to think twice before posting content about their jobs or employers.
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