Quick Link to the article: https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/employee-who-got-6-bbq-sauce-as-holiday-gift-says-he-was-fired-for-angry-tweet-1.4752283
With the world becoming more digital every day, it is not a surprise that employers are now using social media platforms to keep their employees in check. LinkedIn alone, the largest professional social media network, has over 575 million users since its inception in 2002 (Osman, 2020). With that, who is to say employers are not watching their employees with other platforms? The concept of using social media activities as a way to track off-site employee actions is a hotly debated topic today in the workplace policy involving both employees and employers. The main concern brought forward by the former is that it seems to be an invasion of privacy while the latter is concerned with the effects of employee’s social media activities with the overall company’s image. In addition, the provision of severance pay is also an issue being raised. In this particular blog, I will argue that the dismissal due to social media conduct is valid given that three main criteria are to be followed: communication, process, and policies
The primary issue of the article is whether or not the dismissal of Mr. Mehaidli was legal? According to the issue, Mr. Mehaidli’s employer, Fastenal, gave Canadian employees barbeque sauce as a holiday gift. He, then, posted on his social media raising his disappointment with the management. He was dismissed on the grounds of violating “standards of conduct policy – acceptable conduct section” (Slaughter, 2020).
This is one of the many cases of improper social media activities resulting in termination of employment. There are multiple things to consider when determining whether this form of dismissal is legal and just. This type of termination is valid as long as the company’s standard social media conduct policies were communicated clearly, and employees were given proper training and information. In addition, the implications of such a violation should also be transparently communicated. Clarifications can also help in defining what can be deemed as proper social media conduct.
Secondly, employees should be entitled to a due process. One difference between US and Canada employment law is the concept of “at-will” employment. This means that employers are entitled to dismiss a worker at will but a legal justification in Canada is required (Rousse, 2012). This may, perhaps, be the reason why Fastenal, a US-based company terminated Mr. Mehaidli’s employment on the spot. As well, an employee should be given notice when his/her employment is about to get terminated.
Finally, dismissing a worker should also follow standard policies regarding post-dismissal This involves providing a severance package for terminated employees with multiple factors considered including the number of years with the company. According to McCarthy Tétrault, a Canadian law firm, since there is no “at-will” employment policy implemented in Canada, employers need to provide constructive dismissal which can be in the form of a costly severance package (Rousse, 2012).
Judging the case at hand would be difficult without analyzing the other side of the story. This dismissal case, however, can be seen as a petty business decision from the company and can potentially result in a negative public relation. Although employees are not entitled to receive gift bags and goodies, those barbeque sauce gifts certainly diminished workers’ morale. Finally, having served over six years with the company, I believe Mr. Mehaidli is entitled to receive a more constructive post-dismissal which will include a severance package and an ample time to find another employer.
References:
Osman,M. (2020). Mind-Blowing LinkedIn Statistics and Facts (2020). Kinsta. Retrieved on February 05, 2020 from https://kinsta.com/blog/linkedin-statistics/
Rousse, J. (2015). Five Key Differences Between Canadian and U.S. Employment Law. McCarthy Tetrault. Retrieved on on February 05, 2020 from https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/articles/five-key-differences-between-canadian-and-us-employment-law
Slaughter, G. (2020). Employee who got $6 BBQ sauce as holiday gift says he was fired for angry tweet. CTV News. Retrieved on February 05, 2020 from https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/employee-who-got-6-bbq-sauce-as-holiday-gift-says-he-was-fired-for-angry-tweet-1.4752283
Christian Soriano's EMPR 240 Blog 
Hello Christian,
First of all, thank you for a very well written blog. I appreciate the fact that you took the time to do extra research to support your views on the article. I believe that with increase in social media technology and culture, coupled with an increasing ability for employers to crawl through the internet to find both the most recent post and through forensic technology, long-forgotten posts, we shall be seeing more and more cases like this.
While it is true that the employee, in this case, violated Fastenal’s policy on standards of conduct, the question remains on whether this violation goes to the root of the employment relationship. One will have to first determine if this policy was unilaterally enacted by the employer. While it is a reasonable exercise of management right, to enact unilateral policies, according to the Court of Appeal of Alberta[1], it is only deemed enforceable against an employee if certain conditions are met such as that: it is consistent with the collective bargaining agreement, it strikes a reasonable balance between the employer and employee interests, it is unambiguous, The employee is aware and understands the clause and is notified that a breach of this policy can result in discharge and it has been consistently enforced. With that being said, the court will have to test the reasonableness of the policy in forming an opinion on whether there was ” just cause” for dismissal. Just cause for termination requires the court to determine whether the employee has engaged in misconduct worthy of discipline and the onus for prooving just cause lies with the employer.
Furthermore, one will have to consider the jurisdiction under which the company is operating. While there is no law preventing company from dismissing employees “at will” in the United States, the same is not true in Canada, where Hussien Mehaidli was employed. In my opinion, the employee will have grounds to sue for wrongful dismissal and considering the amount of time he has been in Fastenal’s employment and his position as a manager in the company, he will be entitled to significant severance pay.
Reference
[1]United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local 401 v Sobey’s-Safeway Operations (Provincial), 2019 ABCA 175 (CanLII), ABCA 175 (May 10, 2019).
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Hi Daniel,
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and provide your insights regarding the case. I completely agree with your arguments and they are certainly substantial.
There are many things to consider when judging the case including the collective bargaining agreement the two parties have made, the extent by which Fastenal could enforce the conduct, as well as geographical differences. With that said, there is so much information missing to accurately judge the case at hand. I do agree with you though that judging from the article, Mr. Mehaidli did have the right to get employment termination notice and severance pay considering he has been there for a significant amount of time.
Thanks again for commenting!
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Hi Christian,
I really enjoyed reading your post – it is well written and very clear.
I find cases as such where social media becomes involved in the employment relationship quite tricky in determining what is deemed appropriate versus what is deemed inappropriate.
While it is important that the employer make it clear to the employee the expectations and their use of social media at the start of the employment contract, and that the employee fully understand this as well as the consequences, I think it also important to see it from both perspectives.
If an employer made a post where they did not appreciate work the employee performed or a gift the employee presented to them, the employee would mostly likely take offence to such a post as it is posted online for millions to view, and it would be deemed as inappropriate. Mr. Mehaidli was not content with a gift he received from the employer, took his thoughts to social media, and made a post that could be deemed as inappropriate.
In the case above, because the employee was not given advance notice nor a severance package considering the length of time he worked for the company, he could make a claim of wrongful dismissal in order to receive some form of compensation.
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Hi Latisha,
Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to read my blog. I absolutely agree with you! We will be seeing more of this gray area in employment, but at the very least, these cases will give us information about where conduct policies can stretch towards.
I used to believe that social media was a tool to freely express our opinions, however we need to also understand that businesses are increasingly becoming more digital and that these entities have social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.). This is why I understand why employers need to track their employee’s social media conduct. At the same time, I also understand the employee’s stance on having social media outlets completely separate from work. I guess my main point is that we need to be wary of our social media behaviour as our employers could also be monitoring us off-site. Ultimately, so many interactions and engagements now happen online that it is inevitable for businesses and employers to conduct work online as well.
The case however, given limited information about the case, showed a more extreme judgment on the employer’s part. I do agree that Mr. Mehaidli should seek legal counselling about the different laws that Fastenal might have violated from his termination.
Thanks again!
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