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14.3: Discussion- Employee Rights and Responsibilities

  • Page ID
    47140
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    The day she started her new job at a daycare center, Kaitlin Wells posted on social media, “I just really hate being around kids all day.” Twenty-seven hours later, she was unemployed again.

    Laws protect an employee from being fired for voicing their political beliefs, assembling with other employees to protest or strike, volunteering at civic organizations or smoking and drinking outside of working hours. But social media adds a whole new dimension to employee rights and responsibilities. What, exactly, is okay to post on social media about work, and what will get you fired?

    Discussion Prompt

    While an employer is prohibited from firing an employee for the above-mentioned activities, social media is different. As we discussed in the text, making statements that are “egregiously offensive or knowingly and maliciously false,” or “publicly disparaging your employer’s products or services without relating your complaints to any labor controversy” is not protected concerted activity.

    Your assignment is to write one or two social media posts about your “job” that could get you fired. Don’t post them on your real social media account! Just share them in this discussion thread. The posts should get you “fired” for different reasons. They should all be safe for classroom discussion (no obscenities, lewd remarks, etc.). Then, create one social media post that covers work related subjects but will not get you fired.

    Grading

    Share your opinions below and respond to two of your classmates’ thoughts.

    Discussion Grading Rubric
    Criteria Not Evident Developing Exemplary Points
    Submit your initial response 0 pts
    No post made
    5 pts
    Post is either late or off-topic
    10 pts
    Post is made on time and is focused on the prompt
    10 pts
    Respond to at least two peers’ presentations 0 pts
    No response to peers
    2 pts
    Responded to only one peer
    5 pts
    Responded to two peers
    5 pts
    Total: 15 pts

    Contributors and Attributions

    • Discussion: Employee Rights and Responsibilities. Authored by: Freedom Learning Group. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

    This page titled 14.3: Discussion- Employee Rights and Responsibilities is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Nina Burokas via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.