Virginia firefighter suspended for Facebook comments about race, Trump, Obama, Muslims & more
(Thanks to Robb Poland for sending this to STATter911.com.)
A Henrico County, Virginia firefighter has been suspended without pay after a complaint about comments the firefighter made on Facebook. The comments, above, covered race, President-elect Donald Trump, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and more.
The profile, which was removed within 12 hours of a letter sent to Henrico Fire Chief Anthony E. McDowell, contained messages perceived by the sender as “racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic and transphobic.”
“His postings are outrageously offensive and reflect very poorly on your department and the county of Henrico,” wrote the tipster, who did not respond to an interview request by time of publishing.
This latest SMACSS case (Social Media Assisted Career Suicide Syndrome) comes after we’ve seen much discussion among those in public safety about the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently striking down the social media policy of the Petersburg (VA) Police Department (read that decision here).
Many comments I read believed that victory for two officers on First Amendment grounds meant those in public safety could get away with saying whatever they wanted on their personal Facebook pages without reprisal from work. FireLawBlog.com’s Curt Varone confirms my suspicions that this was not what the court was saying. You should read Curt’s analysis. I also strongly suggest heeding this advice from Curt in order to save yourself paying him or another lawyer their hourly rate:
- Don’t post in such a way that you may be viewed as being a spokesperson for your fire department without permission.
- Don’t air petty/personal grievances.
- Do not post in such a way that causes actual harm or disruption to your fire department. The most common way folks get themselves in trouble in this regard is when they imply (or expressly say) that they harbor such animosity toward others that they cannot or will not provide a quality service to everyone in the community…
Read Curt’s entire column titled “Court Strikes Down Police Department Social Media Policy In Ho-Hum Non-Precedent Setting But Widely Discussed Decision.”
Here is an excerpt from Henrico County’s social media policy:
“Employees are free to express themselves as private citizens on social media sites to the degree that their content does not impair professional relationships in the workplace, impede the performance of their job duties or negatively affect the public perception of Henrico County. Employees may not utilize social media in a manner which could lead the reader to believe such postings represent the official position of Henrico County.”
