Social Media and Employees: Can My Social Media Posts Affect My Employment?

Employment Lawyer Walter Yoo explains:

Employees often believe that their private social media accounts have no connection to the workplace, especially when the posts on those accounts are created outside of work hours.

While the law does recognize that there’s a difference between on duty and off-duty conduct, where the contents of those social media posts affect either the business of the employer or relationships in the workplace, they will be deemed to fall within the bounds of the workplace.

Both employers and employees need to be very careful about what they post on social media. Past court cases have determined that social media posts could be used as documents during litigation. This would even apply to posts on private pages. If a large enough group of people could view the post, the post will be considered to be public in nature.

Like any communication or conduct in the workplace, evidence of certain behaviours found in social media posts could lead to violations of human rights legislation, administrative suspensions and even just cause dismissal.

For more information regarding employee rights, contact Monkhouse Law Employment Lawyers. Monkhouse Law is a nationally recognized team of Employment Lawyers in Toronto. Call us for a free 30 minute phone consultation at 416-907-9249

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Employment Lawyers at Monkhouse Law specialize in Employment Law, Human Rights Law, and Disability Insurance Law. We serve employees, independent contractors and employers, and strive to get optimal results for every client through skilled advocacy and research on each matter. We have successfully represented clients before all levels of court in Ontario, including the Superior Court, the Divisional Appeals Court, and the Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.