Opinion

Your boss may be reading your Facebook page

By Mike Lange

    On May 21, a student at Haralson County Middle School in rural Georgia boarded Johnny Cook’s bus and said he was hungry. Why? Well, he told the bus driver he was 40 cents short on his lunch money, and the folks running the cafeteria wouldn’t let him eat.

    Cook was hopping mad – so angry, in fact, that he posted a message on Facebook criticizing school officials. The message said, in part, “This child is already on reduced lunch and we can’t let him eat. Are you kidding me?” Cook wrote. “As a taxpayer, I would much rather feed a child than throw it away. I would rather feed a child than to give food stamps to a crack head.”
    It’s hard to argue with Cook’s logic. Unfortunately, by criticizing the system, he also violated one of the cardinal rules of employment: Don’t badmouth your boss in public.
    Cook was called on the carpet and given a choice to either apologize and retract his statement on Facebook, or be fired. He refused to back down. As of this writing, he’s unemployed.
    In today’s tight job market, most positions are at-will unless you’re protected by an iron-clad union contact. “At-will” simply means that you can be fired for any reason whatsoever.
    Social media is one of those proverbial two-edged swords. It’s a great communication tool and way of promoting your views, family history, club events or business.
    The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department as well as the Greenville and Dexter police departments use Facebook often. Check out the photo of the two suspects in the Elliottsville camp burglary with their “Who, me?” look on the current page of the PCSO.
    On the other hand, one Facebook post sent in anger can haunt you forever; or in the case of people like Johnny Cook, get you fired.
    Some people think that FB privacy settings will keep their off-the-wall posts out of the public eye. That’s hardly the case. Journalists check Facebook for contact information all the time.
    Sometimes a source with an unlisted phone number will have a FB page. So we simply send them a private message, and 90 percent of them reply. Most of them don’t even check their settings. So if I can see your page, so can your boss or a prospective employer.
    A young lady who calls me her “honorary Dad” went through a messy divorce and a promising relationship also crashed and burned. She poured her heart out on FB quite often.
    So I gently reminded her that people who don’t know her, but only see her FB page, may assume she’s whiny, vindictive and unstable. “You’re looking for a new job, and your prospective employer sees your FB page. Based on what you’ve posted lately, would you hire yourself?” I asked her.
    She got the point, and now vents to her family and friends in person or via e-mail.
    Johnny Cook may get his job back eventually or be hired by another school district. Supports have started – you guessed it – a Facebook page on his behalf which has already gathered more than 10,000 “likes.” It’s a good guess, however, that the Haralson County Middle School isn’t impressed.
    If the story is true about the youngster being denied lunch because he was 40 cents short, someone really used bad judgment.
    Unfortunately, so did Johnny Cook – not because he stood up for the kid, but because he used the wrong platform.
    The lesson to be learned: Spoken words are quickly forgotten. Internet postings are forever.
    (Mike Lange is a staff writer for the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of this paper. And yes, he’s on Facebook.)

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