> But because some of the opinions she expressed in her X accounts did not conform to the prevailing political orthodoxy, Block fired her, in violation of the law.
Publicly using a pair of slurs about a coworker regarding an in-office interaction (the “Bathroom Post”), which were apparently seen and reported by some (whether different or the same) coworker, is not merely “expressing political views”, it is textbook work-related harassment–not enough for an employer to be liable to another employee for on a single incident, but for which an employer can be held responsible if it persists.
This seems a lot like it is nearly as much of a meritless political stunt suit as Elon’s recent SLAPP suit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
It's not clear if it was about a real coworker (she started working remotely "in October", and the post itself was made on October 17). It's also not clear that it was reported by a coworker - according to the lawsuit Block did not say whether any employees had complained. I'm sure there is tons of overlap between Block and Twitter so it might have just been backchanneled. Maybe it will come out in the lawsuit.
I'll be interested to see how this plays out; I generally support laws that protect employees from being fired based on what they say and do outside of work, but it seems like there's an obvious issue where comments made outside of work could create a hostile work environment under (eg) the CRA. (I don't know if this case in particular is anything of the sort, to be clear.) My bet is on Block settling rather than taking on a fight that Twitter/Musk will almost inevitably appeal to as high a court as will hear it.
employment in the US is, practically always, classified as "at will", which means either the employee or the employer can end the employment at any time for (almost) any reason. there are very narrow exceptions to this. missouri states that employees cannot be fired solely for their political beliefs. however, posting offensive jokes that bother your coworkers will be difficult to defend as just a "political belief". the case itself gives an example that is extremely coarse. it'll be an uphill battle for sure.
"Law" (whatever that means to you) does not, in the main, protect you from the private consequences of your speech.
It turns out that when you say shitty things about your coworkers in ways themselves violative of the law, people have no obligation to keep you employed!
This is a lawsuit decrying the reality of finding-out post fuck-around.
What law?