Remainder of article:Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired
By Eve Tahmincioglu
A former management analyst at the Library of Congress is claiming he was fired after he "liked" a Facebook page for same-sex parents, an act he says led to his boss discovering he is gay.
Peter TerVeer liked the “Two Dads” page on Facebook, a group that helps “promote the gay and lesbian community,” according to the page.
When his manager, John Mech, discovered he was gay, TerVeer’s once-positive performance reviews turned negative, he alleges, and his boss started making derogatory statements about his sexual orientation, according to TerVeer's attorney Thomas Simeone.
Simeone would not comment on details of the case, but a Roll Call article published Tuesday said shortly after TerVeer liked the Two Dads page:TerVeer said he started to receive emails from Mech that contained ‘religiously motivated harassment and discrimination.’ Mech then called him into a meeting for the purposes of ‘educating him on hell and that it awaited him for being a homosexual.’
TerVeer's therapist ordered him to take medical leave because of the stress, Simeone said. He was fired last week for missing 37 consecutive days of work.
He was ordered onto medical leave and then fired for taking medical leave. Sounds perfectly reasonable.
Just because a gay person was fired doesnt mean they were fired because they were gay. Missing 37 consecutive days from work sounds like grounds for termination.
He was ordered onto medical leave and then fired for taking medical leave. Sounds perfectly reasonable.
This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance.
This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance. We've got a job lost due to homophobia. We've got an employee with no first amendment right to even "like" a pro gay organization.
I'm this close to just deleting my Facebook account. I have my privacy options set high, but I suspect I could be hacked and penalized for some of my views. Employers are snooping so much that it's bringing down the value of a Facebook account.
Remainder of article:
Life Inc. - Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired
I'd suggest the Facebook aspect is a media-fed distraction (probably wouldn't have made the news without it). How the manager discovered his sexuality is irrelevant. The only question is whether he was mistreated and/or sacked because of discrimination or not.What we have is a meathead who put his personal information on a the World Wide Web for all to see, FB participation notwithstanding.
We don't know much of anything really - we've read his side of the story but that's about it. . . and I think this article makes it more confusing - it seems disorganized.
I read it the first time and thought that he had given his employer his Facebook password because it discusses the laws governing such things - is that the case or is that just a partially related bit of info? I don't follow.
What we have is a meathead who put his personal information on a the World Wide Web for all to see, FB participation notwithstanding.
The employer wouldn't need his password to get that information. Anyone can see you on a page you "like"
Employers are snooping and THAT is bringing down the value of a facebook account? Say what?
I was raised without hte internet - when we first got online as a family our rule was that we were not allowed to post any self-revealing information.
If people just followed this then everyone would be fine - be annonymous online and you'll be fine. But people want to blend online with real life so much that it's just silly - and that has never been a good idea.
I wouldn't know - I don't do any of that stuff and I think it undermines the 'seriousness' of this issue that any of them do (employer and employee alike)
Your employer shouldn't know who you are online - period - and if they find out from you then that's *your own fault* for not following the basic rules of internet safety.
This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance. We've got a job lost due to homophobia. We've got an employee with no first amendment right to even "like" a pro gay organization.
I'm this close to just deleting my Facebook account. I have my privacy options set high, but I suspect I could be hacked and penalized for some of my views. Employers are snooping so much that it's bringing down the value of a Facebook account.
Remainder of article:
Life Inc. - Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired
I'd suggest the Facebook aspect is a media-fed distraction (probably wouldn't have made the news without it). How the manager discovered his sexuality is irrelevant. The only question is whether he was mistreated and/or sacked because of discrimination or not.
There's a perfectly good argument for not publishing lots of personal details in any format but there is no justification for mistreatment if they chose not to (or their information leaks out in some other manner). There should certainly be no expectation for anyone to keep things like their sexuality secret, on-line or off-line.
I am not suggesting that there is any measure of propriety in firing someone over any view, let alone a sexual one. It is simply good policy to keep one's sexual views private lest they become fodder for discussion in the office. A very uncomfortable situation, at best. It may lead to a "hostile work environment".
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