• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Posting on Facebook Slander/Libel

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

secgat

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Fla

My daughter (18) posted on her facebook account that a certain manager was satan. more specific she posted (managers name) = satan. A fellow employee told the manager and he printed a copy of her facebook page and gave it to HR. The HR manager told her she was being written up for the act and some more punhishment action was following. My daughter answers the phone somtimes for this business and the next day the HR manager called her and acted like she had applied for a job and called to check her status. My daughter forwarded her to the HR department. Somthing she has done before with no problems. A few seconds later the HR manager came out and confronted her in front of customers telling her to never do that again.

First off, I have told her to remove what she posted and to apologize to the manager. I raised her to be open and herself but calling someone that name is strong and should never be used. She's a good kid who let her emotions get the best of her.

My question is, can her employer take action for what she did and she is worried that the manager can sue her for slander/libel and that the HR manager will harass her to quit. Thoughts?
 
Last edited:


Antigone*

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Fla

My daughter (18) posted on her facebook account that a certain manager was satan. more specific she posted (managers name) = satan. A fellow employee told the manager and he printed a copy of her facebook page and gave it to HR. The HR manager told her she was being written up for the act and some more punhishment action was following. My daughter answers the phone somtimes for this business and the next day the HR manager called her and acted like she had applied for a job and called to check her status. My daughter forwarded her to the HR department. Somthing she has done before with no problems. A few seconds later the HR manager came out and confronted her in front of customers telling her to never do that again.

First off, I have told her to remove what she posted and to apologize to the manager. I raised her to be open and herself but calling someone that name is strong and should never be used. She's a good kid who let her emotions get the best of her.

My question is, can her employer take action for what she did and she is worried that the manager can sue her for slander/libel and that the HR manager will harass her to quit. Thoughts?
My thoughts are your daughter is an adult now and needs to handle her business as an adult. Her employer can take action including, terminating the disrespectful young adult.
 

commentator

Senior Member
commentator

Yep, eighteen is old enough to be prosecuted as an adult. Old enough to learn that you can be held liable for what you say on Facebook, over the phone, via email, etc. Think before you speak.

Also old enough to learn that yes, they can do this to me, even though it may not be fair. Harrass her into quitting? Yes, if her harrassment tolerance threshold is very low, she will probably end up quitting. They can, and it is probably going to be perfectly legal. She should try to avoid being harrassed into quitting, though the managers may give her some harrassment.

It's a good time for her to learn that the best thing to do on a job, any job, though it may not be the job of her dreams is to be professional, impersonal, and to do the job to be best of her ability and limit her comments. They can terminate her if they want to. In most states they can terminate her for any reason as long as they do not violate EEOC laws by doing so.

She is perfectly free to use her spare time to look for another, better job.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Calling someone "Satan" is not defamatory, so if that is all your daughter wrote on her Facebook page about her manager, she will not lose any defamation suit (if her manager is silly enough to bring one over that remark).

Defamatory statements that are written are called "libel," by the way - slander is its spoken equivalent.

Your daughter should know that employers and colleges check out their applicants, their current employees and their potential employees by browsing through what is posted online. Having a "clean" internet image is important. Questionable photos (ie. beer party shots), questionable comments (ie. calling a current manager "Satan" ;)), and questionable friends (ie. a friend who has a rap sheet) can all lead to unpleasant consequences for your daughter.

As Wirelessany1 said, your daughter can lose her job over her less-than-wise comments posted on Facebook, but the odds of her being sued for posting an opinion online that is protected by the First Amendment would be slim to none.
 

Yertle8

Member
Facebook pages don't default to private, you have to choose that option. Everyone should.

Then be careful about both what you post and who you allow to see it.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top