(Anti-)Social Media

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Many years ago I said something inappropriate on Twitter. I took the post down. An enemy of mine saved it and has been circulating it, and when my employer found out, I was fired. I was young and stupid and took it down years ago. Is my sacking justified?

 

Well, I don’t know what you said so I don’t know how bad it was. But most employment is “at will,” which means companies can fire you and you can quit any time for any reason. The only thing an employer can’t do is fire you for any reason that is protected by law, such as age, race, gender and so on. That aside, I am deeply troubled by the gotcha, cancel culture. What if everything you have ever uttered privately had been recorded and played back? If anyone can say that there isn’t anything cringeworthy from their past, write to me. So I think generally we need to be more forgiving of youthful indiscretions that previously went unrecorded for posterity before social media. I am less forgiving if you post today. If you’re dumb enough to do that, I don’t have much sympathy for you if your employer takes action.

 

Gregory Giangrande has over 25 years of experience as a chief human resources executive and is dedicated to helping New Yorkers get back to work. E-mail your questions to GoToGreg@NYPost.com. Follow Greg on Twitter: @greggiangrande and atGoToGreg.com.

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