Management Toolkit

Blogging, and how to keep your job

Declan McCullagh and Alorie Gilbert CNET News.com

Published: 09 Mar 2005 14:30 GMT

Can my employer fire me if I blog from home on my own time?
Yes. The odds of your company perusing your blog is slim. "But if your boss should see your blog and be offended by something there, in most [American] states you have virtually no protection against being fired," says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J.

Wait — does that mean that where I live matters?
Yes. California, New York, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota recently have enacted laws limiting when an employer can fire you based on something you do off-duty that's not related to your job. Note that blogging isn't singled out for special treatment in those state laws. "The broader issue is, 'Can your boss fire you for something you do in your private life he doesn't like?'" Maltby says. "In five states he can't. In 45, he can." (The Michigan legislature soon may consider a similar measure.)

That sounds pretty broad. Are there any limitations on an employer's ability to fire me?
Aside from the ones mentioned above, the general rule in the United States is that you can be fired for anything other than an impermissible reason such as your race, sex or sexual orientation. If you happen to disclose your religion or sexual orientation on a blog and you're fired as a direct result of that disclosure, you might have a case. Organizing a union through your blog also is protected under federal law.

What about the First Amendment? Doesn't that protect me?
Not if you're working for a private employer. Read the text again: It says "Congress shall make no law" that abridges "freedom of speech, or of the press". That doesn't say anything about private employers. The First Amendment protects you only from censorial governments.

Are there any court decisions involving bloggers being fired?
A Lexis search through federal and state cases didn't turn up any to date.

What if I'm a union employee? Do I have more protection?
Yes. Union employees generally are protected from being fired without "just cause". Translated, that means you would have to do something pretty evil on your blog — like divulge confidential company information.

How about if I'm a government employee, for example, in the federal civil service?
"A government worker who's at home maintaining his or her own Web site doesn't lose their rights simply because he or she is a government employee," says Barry Steinhardt, director of the technology and liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union. But Steinhardt cautions that if you're spending a lot of time at work on personal business such as updating your blog, that's a different matter.