Have you wondered if what you say on Facebook and Twitter really can get you fired?  We’ve all heard stories about a friend’s friend who posted something questionable on Facebook on Saturday and was jobless on Monday; the urban legends of the 21st century.  It seems as if the ubiquitous use of social media and blogging tools would have made the chances of punishment diluted–when millions of people are posting inappropriate things every minute, how could employers possibly try to hold their employees accountable for their harmless tweets and posts, right?

Wrong.

Simply put: if your employer finds your posts and doesn’t like them, you could be fired. The good news?  There are some limits to an employer’s ability to discipline or fire employees for what they say online.  We pulled this advice and practical tips from Nolo, a great resource for free online legal advice.  Read below to avoid trouble at work when you blog, post, and tweet.

You Can’t Rely on the First Amendment

Many people {wrongly} assume that the right to free speech protects their right to say whatever they want, in a blog post or otherwise. But, like the rest of the federal Constitution, the First Amendment protects all of us from the government, NOT from private companies. While the First Amendment prohibits the government from telling us what we can say {within reason}, it doesn’t apply to private employers.

Legal Protections for Bloggers

Luckily, there are other laws that provide some limits on an employer’s right to fire you for what you blog and post about. {Your punishability mostly depends on what you write about.}  Here are some of the laws that may protect an employee who keeps a private blog:

Off-duty conduct laws. A number of states have passed laws that prohibit employers from disciplining or firing employees for activities they pursue off-site, on their own time.

Protections for political views. A handful of states protect employees from discrimination based on their political views or affiliation. In these states, disciplining an employee for posts that endorse a particular candidate or cause could be illegal.

Protections for “whistlebloggers.” An employee who raises concerns about safety hazards or illegal activity at work may be protected as a whistleblower (or a “whistleblogger,” if the concerns are raised in a blog). Whistleblower protections recognize that the public good is served by employees who are willing to come forward with these types of complaints — and that very few employees will do so if they can be fired for it.

Prohibitions on retaliation. A variety of employment laws protect employees from retaliation for claiming that their rights have been violated. If your post complains of workplace discrimination, harassment, violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage and hour violations, or other legal transgressions, you may be protected from disciplinary action.

Concerted activity protections. The National Labor Relations Act and similar state laws protect employees’ rights to communicate with each other about the terms and conditions of employment, and to join together, in a union or otherwise, to bring concerns about such issues to their employer. If you are fired for blogging or posting about low wages, poor benefits, or long work hours, for example, you could have a claim against your employer. The National Labor Relations Board has been very active lately in bringing unfair labor practices claims against employers who fire or discipline employees based on posts that are critical of working conditions.

Staying Out of Trouble

If you don’t fit into one of the categories described above — or you’d rather avoid trouble in the first place and not test the limits — you’ll have to be extra careful about what you post. Here are some tips that can help you stay out of trouble.

Don’t criticize, make fun of, or make harassing comments about coworkers.

Don’t post anything that could be construed as racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted.

Don’t reveal company trade secrets, confidential information, or other things the company would rather not make public.

Before using your blog to vent about workplace problems, try to solve them through the usual channels.

Blog anonymously or restrict viewers to your blog. The Electronic Freedom Foundation, which supports the rights of bloggers, among other things, has a number of suggestions for making sure your employer doesn’t identify you as the author of your blog, including:

• blogging anonymously (you’ll have to be careful not to reveal any identifying details about yourself or your job)
• restricting who can view your blog, and
• excluding your blog from major search engines.

Learn more at the Foundation’s website, www.eff.org {click on “Bloggers’ Rights” from the homepage}.