Can I legally be fired due to Facebook comments? I work for a fairly large corporation and have been given a warning over posts I made that never directly used the company's name.
For example, I said I wished that I had never left my previous job. I joked that, "Oh, boy, I made $10 today," and that I was looking for a new job to make some real money.
In a totally different conversation, I was asked the name of the company I worked for and I gave the name. Can I be terminated for this? I'm not saying anything negative about the company itself, just mainly about me making no money. What about my freedom of speech?
Anyone reading the whole context of this sees that you aren't happy with your employer and it isn't rocket science to see who that is.
The First Amendment requires state action of some sort in order to invoke the protection. In other words, where the amendment says "Congress shall make no law" abridging freedom of speech, this is interpreted to mean that no governmental unit may infringe upon free speech.
However, in your case, it is a private company proposing to take action, so First Amendment protections aren't there for you.
Without an employment contract or a union, we are all employees at will. That means an employer can terminate for any reason or no reason, as long as they are not engaging in discrimination against a protected class or violating public policy.
I just read a Facebook posting about someone's crazy dog. I would stick to innocuous postings like that.
Do you really have to stop paying bills for three months before filing bankruptcy? I'm worried about bill collectors calling at work. Is there any way to stop them from calling my job before the bankruptcy "stay" is issued?
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector may never call you at your place of employment once you give notice not to call at work. After that notice not to call at work, further calls at work violate FDCPA.
In the 90 days before the filing of a bankruptcy petition, there's a legal presumption that the debtor is insolvent. All filers must disclose payments to any individual creditor totaling more than $600 during that time period.
A trustee will have the right to seek to recover the monies over that paid during that period unless it is for an item such as a car or mortgage payment.
My guess is that you're really asking whether you can pay creditors during that 90-day period just to shut them up and make them leave you alone. Depending upon the amount of money involved, you may prefer to take your chances by making small, token payments to keep the peace.
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Andrew Myers of Derry has law offices in Derry and North Andover. He is a member of the American Association for Justice and the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association. Send questions to andrew@attorney-myers.com.
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