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Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired

Luna Tick

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This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance. We've got a job lost due to homophobia. We've got an employee with no first amendment right to even "like" a pro gay organization.

I'm this close to just deleting my Facebook account. I have my privacy options set high, but I suspect I could be hacked and penalized for some of my views. Employers are snooping so much that it's bringing down the value of a Facebook account.

Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired

By Eve Tahmincioglu

A former management analyst at the Library of Congress is claiming he was fired after he "liked" a Facebook page for same-sex parents, an act he says led to his boss discovering he is gay.

Peter TerVeer liked the “Two Dads” page on Facebook, a group that helps “promote the gay and lesbian community,” according to the page.

When his manager, John Mech, discovered he was gay, TerVeer’s once-positive performance reviews turned negative, he alleges, and his boss started making derogatory statements about his sexual orientation, according to TerVeer's attorney Thomas Simeone.

Simeone would not comment on details of the case, but a Roll Call article published Tuesday said shortly after TerVeer liked the Two Dads page:
TerVeer said he started to receive emails from Mech that contained ‘religiously motivated harassment and discrimination.’ Mech then called him into a meeting for the purposes of ‘educating him on hell and that it awaited him for being a homosexual.’

TerVeer's therapist ordered him to take medical leave because of the stress, Simeone said. He was fired last week for missing 37 consecutive days of work.
Remainder of article:
Life Inc. - Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired
 
Employers are snooping and THAT is bringing down the value of a facebook account? Say what?

I was raised without hte internet - when we first got online as a family our rule was that we were not allowed to post any self-revealing information.

If people just followed this then everyone would be fine - be annonymous online and you'll be fine. But people want to blend online with real life so much that it's just silly - and that has never been a good idea.
 
Yes, it's bringing down the value. You should be able to support a pro-gay organization or a pro-socialist one or the NRA or whoever you want without it being any of your employer's business. And you certainly don't deserve to be fired for it. I always thought it was enough not to post your phone number or address or SSN, but obviously that's not the case. If you support a gay rights organization, that's enough to get you unjustly fired.

I already know people who have deleted their FB accounts because of privacy violations. I may very well become one of them.
 
Just because a gay person was fired doesnt mean they were fired because they were gay. Missing 37 consecutive days from work sounds like grounds for termination.

The guy claims there are emails. I'd like to see that before I jump on the this OMG THIS IS HORRIBLE bandwagon.
 
He was ordered onto medical leave and then fired for taking medical leave. Sounds perfectly reasonable.
 
If all that is true then it seems he would have a case but like all such things one side can't or won't talk because it is a legal matter so we really don't know the true story. Kind of suprising we would see that kind of harrassment at the Library of Congress but it could happen.

Warning to all, what you do on a company computer is not private. They can investigate all they want. Stay off Facebook and Twitter and such things at work.
 
He was ordered onto medical leave and then fired for taking medical leave. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

Was he ordered by his employer? Did he fill out FMLA papers with his employer? Because if a therapist tells you to take some time off and you just disappear, you are going to get fired.
 
Just because a gay person was fired doesnt mean they were fired because they were gay. Missing 37 consecutive days from work sounds like grounds for termination.


There are always two sides of a story. Questions I have are:

#1. Did he file a claim before the therapist told him to take the time off?
#2. Did he inform his boss or anyone else in his chain of command he was taking time off at his therapists request?
#3. Does his work allow that long of a leave even with a therapists request?

Until the emails are produced and verified, it's hard to take a side on this. I'd hate to think there are people out there that would discriminate like this, but I know they are out there. I just don't know if this is one of those cases until more proof is provided and verified.
 
He was ordered onto medical leave and then fired for taking medical leave. Sounds perfectly reasonable.

Just because his therapist requested him to take the time off, does not mean that it is approved. There are processes and paperwork you have to fill out (Short-term leave of absence), etc. Then you have to get it approved.

Do we know if he did this? No.
 
We don't know much of anything really - we've read his side of the story but that's about it. . . and I think this article makes it more confusing - it seems disorganized.

I read it the first time and thought that he had given his employer his Facebook password because it discusses the laws governing such things - is that the case or is that just a partially related bit of info? I don't follow.
 
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This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance.

What we have is a meathead who put his personal information on a the World Wide Web for all to see, FB participation notwithstanding.
 
This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance. We've got a job lost due to homophobia. We've got an employee with no first amendment right to even "like" a pro gay organization.

I'm this close to just deleting my Facebook account. I have my privacy options set high, but I suspect I could be hacked and penalized for some of my views. Employers are snooping so much that it's bringing down the value of a Facebook account.


Remainder of article:
Life Inc. - Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired

He was fired for missing 37 consecutive days of work.

/drama
 
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HR doesn't let you fire someone without documentation. The guy missed 37 consecutive days of work, and if there was an FMLA request made, you can bet your ass that HR would have called foul.

The other red flag would be the lawyer stating that their case was religious discrimination. Multiple accusations(sexual orientation, medical leave, religion) to try to get something to stick.
 
I think I've liked the two Dads page myself. The difference is: I'm not Gay (not that it matters) and my name isn't Mickey.
 
What we have is a meathead who put his personal information on a the World Wide Web for all to see, FB participation notwithstanding.
I'd suggest the Facebook aspect is a media-fed distraction (probably wouldn't have made the news without it). How the manager discovered his sexuality is irrelevant. The only question is whether he was mistreated and/or sacked because of discrimination or not.

There's a perfectly good argument for not publishing lots of personal details in any format but there is no justification for mistreatment if they chose not to (or their information leaks out in some other manner). There should certainly be no expectation for anyone to keep things like their sexuality secret, on-line or off-line.
 
If this guy's for real, he'll have the emails his boss is purported to have written. If that part's true, I'd say he's got a legitimate complaint. If he doesn't have the emails? Then they don't exist. Period.
 
I'm leaning toward he was fired for missing 37 days of work, not for being gay. But that's subject to change with further info.

Having said that, there's one question nobody here has asked: How does "liking" a 'two-dads' Facebook page equate to being gay? Yes, I know, it supposedly came out later, but the suspicion was most likely there for the supervisor's talks to go in that direction. I know boatloads of heterosexual people who openly support gay rights.
 
We don't know much of anything really - we've read his side of the story but that's about it. . . and I think this article makes it more confusing - it seems disorganized.

I read it the first time and thought that he had given his employer his Facebook password because it discusses the laws governing such things - is that the case or is that just a partially related bit of info? I don't follow.

The employer wouldn't need his password to get that information. Anyone can see you on a page you "like"
 
What we have is a meathead who put his personal information on a the World Wide Web for all to see, FB participation notwithstanding.

Swap out "gay" with "Christian" and tell me if you still think the employee is in the wrong. (assume for the sake of argument that he was fired because of this information and not the missed work)
 
The employer wouldn't need his password to get that information. Anyone can see you on a page you "like"

I wouldn't know - I don't do any of that stuff and I think it undermines the 'seriousness' of this issue that any of them do (employer and employee alike)

Your employer shouldn't know who you are online - period - and if they find out from you then that's *your own fault* for not following the basic rules of internet safety.
 
Employers are snooping and THAT is bringing down the value of a facebook account? Say what?

I was raised without hte internet - when we first got online as a family our rule was that we were not allowed to post any self-revealing information.

If people just followed this then everyone would be fine - be annonymous online and you'll be fine. But people want to blend online with real life so much that it's just silly - and that has never been a good idea.

But that is inevitable. Also it doesn't excuse the bosses behavior if it is true.
 
I wouldn't know - I don't do any of that stuff and I think it undermines the 'seriousness' of this issue that any of them do (employer and employee alike)

Your employer shouldn't know who you are online - period - and if they find out from you then that's *your own fault* for not following the basic rules of internet safety.

On the other hand, if they find out you play World of Warcraft and fire you for it, you are morally obligated to sue the **** out of them.
 
This is oh-so wrong on so many levels. We've got an employer snooping via Facebook into an employees personal life mining details that have nothing to do with job performance. We've got a job lost due to homophobia. We've got an employee with no first amendment right to even "like" a pro gay organization.

I'm this close to just deleting my Facebook account. I have my privacy options set high, but I suspect I could be hacked and penalized for some of my views. Employers are snooping so much that it's bringing down the value of a Facebook account.


Remainder of article:
Life Inc. - Gay worker claims Facebook 'like' got him fired

Problem with situations like these is that if you are intent on initiating a lawsuit, it's extremely difficult to prove anything or build a case.
 
I'd suggest the Facebook aspect is a media-fed distraction (probably wouldn't have made the news without it). How the manager discovered his sexuality is irrelevant. The only question is whether he was mistreated and/or sacked because of discrimination or not.

There's a perfectly good argument for not publishing lots of personal details in any format but there is no justification for mistreatment if they chose not to (or their information leaks out in some other manner). There should certainly be no expectation for anyone to keep things like their sexuality secret, on-line or off-line.

I am not suggesting that there is any measure of propriety in firing someone over any view, let alone a sexual one. It is simply good policy to keep one's sexual views private lest they become fodder for discussion in the office. A very uncomfortable situation, at best. It may lead to a "hostile work environment".
 
I am not suggesting that there is any measure of propriety in firing someone over any view, let alone a sexual one. It is simply good policy to keep one's sexual views private lest they become fodder for discussion in the office. A very uncomfortable situation, at best. It may lead to a "hostile work environment".

No, it should be up to the people who have a problem with it to shut their mouths, and realize that they are working, and not cause a problem. It is not up to gay people to hide who they are because someone may be uncomfortable with it.
 
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