insubordination or 1st amendment

[mnstrddg]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

I was suspended from work for 1 day in January for insubordination because on my personal web page I commented that "an unnamed employee of the human resources dept. made google eyes at an unnamed employee in mapping and zoning."

The comment was in reference to a county administrator and an employee of the county. No names or positions of those employees were mentioned, it was a web page that I work on from my house and is not in anyway associated with my employment, also "google eyes" is the actual term I used.

I’m curious if there is any possible way that this could actually be considered insubordination and if not, what are my legal options and is it a first amendment issue

 

[cbg]

It is not a first amendment issue. The first amendment says that the GOVERNMENT cannot restrict your right to free speech. It does not say that your employer cannot.

Personally, I do not consider it insubordination, but I can also see where someone else might.

Suspending you for this may or may not have been excessive but it was not illegal.

 

[Beth3]

You can be disciplined for criticizing your employer or making statements they deem inappropriate. And frankly, doing so in a manner as public as your own web page was just plain stupid. You put info there for people to see, and I presume particularly co-workers. Did you not think that would get back to your employer?

As cbg says, the first ammendment applies to your abilty to express your opinion about the government, not your employer. What do you suppose would happen if you climbed on top of your desk this morning and hollered out that the boss is an world class *****? You'd be hustled out the door in a hurry.

'Scuze me now. I'm in HR and I have to go make google eyes at one of the employees.

 

[mnstrddg]

I'm not attempting to justify the comments I made on my personal webpage, and I now understand the 1st amendment protects me from the government only. I however havnt found any definition of insubordination that includes any reference to what I do on my own time. Can simply saying "So and so is a jerk" be classified as insubordination? Others have felt that there could have been a liabil issue in play but have also noted that damages would be next to impossible to prove, since no names were ever given. I still do have my job and am currently going to arbitration on the matter. If not for the union I surely would have been fired.

Is there a legal definition for insubordination? All the deffinitions I have found state that:
a) an order must be given
b) it must be in the context of your employment

 

[Beth3]

You can look in the dictionary and see what it says but insubordination broadly defined means failure to accord the proper respect to a member of management or their designee. Putting that statement on your web page was disrespectful or could be interpreted as such, therefore it was a form of insubordination.