Commentary & Opinion
By Jon Hyman
May. 7, 2019
Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech….
So reads the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.
Take note that it does not say, “You have absolute freedom of speech in all things at all times.” It only prohibits government-imposed restrictions on speech.
Yet just last week, President Trump tweeted the following:
I am continuing to monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms. This is the United States of America — and we have what’s known as FREEDOM OF SPEECH! We are monitoring and watching, closely!!
I promise you that if the president of the United States does not understand how the 1st Amendment works, your employees don’t understand it, either.
Indeed, according to one recent survey, only 28 percent of American workers understand that getting fired because of a social media post does not violate their 1st Amendment free speech rights. Clearly, employees do not have free speech rights at work.
There are four key exceptions to this rule.
These exceptions not withstanding, your employees need to understand their lack of free speech rights as employees. I make this lesson a key point in my workplace social media training programs.
If so many of your employees operate under a misconceived and misunderstood notion of “free speech,” then I believe that it is your responsibility as their employer to educate them. After all, if you are going to hold them accountable for what they say, it’s only fair that they understand their responsibilities and the related consequences.
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