This document outlines an agenda on the ethical impacts of employment terminations related to social media use. It discusses challenges employers and employees face regarding enforcing social media policies without infringing on employees' rights. Case examples are presented along with applications of ethical theories like utilitarianism and deontology. The document also discusses how human resources practices are changing to address these issues, including new social media policies, trainings, and analytics. Driving factors include a third of employers disciplining workers for inappropriate social media posts. It concludes with two logical arguments - that employees can be fired for defamation or policy violations via social media, and that increased social media related firings indicate a need for federal regulation.

2. Agenda
 Ethical Impacts of Employment Terminations
 Cases and Ethical Theories Applications
 Re-shaping Human Resources
 What is driving these new HR developments?
 Productivity and Professional Responsibility.
 Laws and Governance.
 Analytical Summary – Logical Arguments.
 Q&A

3. Ethical Impacts of Employment Terminations
 Employer-Employee Challenges
- National unemployment rate 8.2%
- More people got fired from their jobs for social media behavior and
some employers use social media as one of the metric to terminate or
downside their human resource
- How can employees exercise their First Amendment right without
committing defamation toward their employers or co-workers?
- How can employers enforce their ethical policies on social behavior
without unjustly fire their employees?
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

4. Cases and Ethical Theories Applications
 Cases
1. Tri-City Medical Center Fired Employees – June, 2010
2. Ashley Johnson, Brixx Restaurant– May, 2010
3. Ashley Payne, English Teacher in Georgia– August 2009
4. Dan Leone, NFL Eagles' worker Fired for Facebook Update - March 9
 Professional Ethics
The Impact of Social Media as a field of Professional
The American Nurses Association (ANA) professional ethical code
 Ethical Perspectives Theories
Utilitarian - An individual act is morally permissible if the consequences
produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of persons
Duty-Based (Deontology) - Morality must ultimately be grounded in the
concept of duty and that morality has nothing to do with the promotion of
happiness i.e. performance of duties may result to either happiness or
unhappiness results
Contract-based (Rights) - an original “premoral”: all humans are entitled to
freedom of life, liberty, speech, etc. First Amendment law is grounded law of
human natural right in the United States

5. Character-Based (Virtue) – Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle argued that this
theory should focus on character development of individuals and their acquisition
of good character traits from the kinds of habits they develop.
Cases and Ethical Theories Applications Cont’d

6. Re-shaping Human Resources
 Changes to existing employment code of conduct.
 Drafting new social media focused employment
policies.
 Establishing new HR teams focused on Social media
use (just like Benefits team, Payroll team).

7. Re-shaping Human Resources
 New induction and periodical training requirements
for employees.
 Contracts governing the post termination use of
business contacts on social media sites.
 New HR analytics expertise.

8. What is driving these new HR developments?
 A third of employers have had to discipline a worker
for writing something inappropriate about their
company on a social networking site( a study by DLA
Piper a law firm).
 21% of companies have had to give employees a
warning for posting something inappropriate about
work colleagues.
 Many employees have not been given chance.
 Only a 25% of companies have a stand-alone dedicated
social media policy.

9. Productivity and Professional Responsibility
 A distraction in workplace, an interference with
employee productivity, internal workforce culture and
security.
 Employers are starting to review and revise their social
media policies.
 A recent case of Rep Anthony Weiner tweeting his
nude photos to someone.
 New York Knicks’ Amare Stoudmire fined by NBA for
tweeting some gay slur to a fan.

10. Laws and Governance
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Vs-j2pjJ0
 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
 Whistle Blower Status
 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
 Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA)
 International Fair Work Australia (FWA)

11. Analytical Summary
We have 2 Logical Arguments:
Logical Argument 1
 Premise 1: A person's right to freedom of speech to comment, to
express emotion and thought is protected by the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
 Premise 2: Defamation (for slander or libel) is a statement that
makes a claim (or comment) implied to be factual, that may give
an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a
negative image.
 Premise 3: Employees got fired for negative comments
 Premise 4: Some employers created social media policy that
protects the organization, customers, and employee interests.
 Conclusion: Employees are fired for conflict of interest and
violation of company policy on social media. There is a
limitation to freedom of speech if employees constitute a
defamation that can be proof with evidence in the court of law.

12. Logical Arguments Cont’d
Logical Argument 2
 Premise 1: 8 percent of companies with over 1,000 employees
have laid off someone for their social media actions.
 Premise 2: Facebook firings are on the rise.
 Conclusion: Federal Social Media law shall be made to regulate
employment and social media ethical concerns.

13. Q&A