Daily Archives: June 15, 2012

LOS ANGELES, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --For most people when they click the "like" button on a Facebook page they don't think twice about whether that could affect their job. But, as social media rises in popularity and becomes more of a fixture in our everyday lives, consumers will have to start considering how their actions on social media sites could affect their 'offline' lives, reports Los Angeles employment lawyer Eric Grover of Keller Grover LLP.

The question about Facebook "liking" is now showing up in courtrooms across the country as judges are trying to determine whether First Amendment rights protect employees in the social networking world.

According to a recent decision by a Virginia district court judge, a Facebook "like" is not constitutionally protected free speech.The case looked at whether Sheriff B. J. Roberts of Hampton was entitled to fire six employees, because their actions on the social media site allegedly "hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office." The terminated employees had all clicked the "like" button on the page of the sheriff's political opponent, Jim Adams, in a 2009 re-election bid which Roberts won, the New York Times reports.

The terminated employees subsequently sued after they were fired, claiming that their First Amendment rights were violated. But Judge Raymond A. Jackson of the Federal District Court determined that simply clicking Facebook's thumbs up button did not constitute expressive speech. The judge clarified the point by indicating that if the employees had written out a message and posted it on the site, it would then be covered under their First Amendment rights.

The crux of this employment lawsuit ultimately hinges on whether a "like" qualifies as protected speech. Typically the court would have to determine what role an employee's statements played in their termination and whether there were other sufficient grounds for termination, such as insubordination or incompetence.That said if the speech was not protected then it cannot be a factor in determining whether the termination was legitimate.

The terminated employees allege that their expression of support for the sheriff's opponent was a protected political statement and that the "thumbs up" icon for a Facebook "like" is no different that an actual thumbs up, which is a legitimate expression of an opinion, hence protected.

"The laws regarding the limits of free speech in the new world of social media are just starting to develop," noted Bay Area employment lawyer Eric Grover."Until clearer standards evolve, both employers and employees need to be careful about what they say or do on social media outlets."

The ruling is expected to be appealed and potentially may even reach the Supreme Court.

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Facebook 'Like' Isn't Protected Speech Notes Los Angeles Employment Lawyer

A Florida animal rights activist is arguing that discussions of graphic violence against a Wayne State University animal researcher are federally protected free speech and not stalking.

Outside her preliminary examination Thursday in Detroit's 36th District Court, Camille Marino, 47, said she never intended to act on the violence she wrote about in an Oct. 22, 2011, e-mail to Dr. Donal O'Leary. The physiologist is in charge of cardiovascular research at Wayne State's medical school and conducts research on dogs and rats.

"I'm not a violent person," said Marino, accompanied by two women wearing T-shirts with the words "Wayne State murders and tortures dogs" on the back.

Her defense attorney, Matt Savich, said Marino's actions are free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Marino is charged with aggravated stalking and unlawful posting of messages online, both five-year felonies, and trespassing. She was arrested May 2 after she chained herself to the doors of Wayne State's undergraduate library, surrounded by posters about O'Leary.

The preliminary examination, in front of Judge E. Lynise Bryant-Weekes, was continued until July 13 to give prosecutors time to respond to the constitutional argument.

O'Leary said Marino's words frightened him and his family. Calling the e-mail a "demented missive," O'Leary read parts of it in court, starting with the title "Welcome to Your Nightmare," and a reference to Freddy Krueger, a movie character that stalks and kills.

The e-mail included threats to strap O'Leary down and cut off his limbs with rusty saws, rip his teeth out one-by-one with pliers and pound them into his skull, crack his testicles "like walnuts" and feed his limbless body to starving dogs.

"I felt they were clearly from a disturbed individual that was threatening me personally, threatening my children, threatening my home, threatening my colleagues and my students," O'Leary said.

O'Leary testified that he and his neighbors received postcards with a picture of him and the words "I torture animals." He said he saw his name, picture and threats on Marino's Facebook page more than 20 times -- as recently as three days ago.

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Florida animal rights activist says talk of violence against Wayne State University professor is free speech