Legal Question in Employment Law in Pennsylvania

''My Space'' racial slurs about fellow employees

It has come to the attention of the supervisory staff that at least 2 employees have been writing racial comments about other employees on their ''My Space'' pages. (This informaion was passed on to upper management.) The company's name is included in these conversations. Can the company reprimand the employees for the racial slurs? Can the company take action to have it's name removed from these pages? The employee handbook states ''Employees of the company shall conduct their personal affairs in such a fashion that their duties and responsibilities to the company are not jeopardized and/or legal questions do not arise with respect to their association or work with the company''. Does this apply to the situation?


Asked on 10/26/06, 2:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Roger Traversa Arjont Group (Law Office of Roger Traversa)

Re: ''My Space'' racial slurs about fellow employees

You asked about potential racial slurs made on personal Web pages of employees.

Pennsylvania is an at-will employment state. That means that an employer is free to fire or discipline an employee with cause or without as long as the reason is not illegal or discriminatory. In the case you present I would suggest that the employee's conduct should require some sort of discipline. An employer must investigate and deal with matters that are brought to its attention. Sometimes that means just looking at the matter and closing the book. Most times though it means that there needs to be an implementation of the organizations discipline system.

An attorney can help you sort out these matters much more safely than can be done on your own. I have significant experience on both sides of employment matters and years of experience creating and managing employer compliance programs. I would be happy to help you evaluate and resolve this matter and prevent reoccurrences in the future.

Regards,

Read more
Answered on 10/26/06, 11:52 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Pennsylvania