Unless you've been out of the country for the holidays, you probably heard about the brouhaha over Duck Dynasty
patriarch Phil Robertson's anti-gay and racist comments. He was
interviewed by GQ and made comments that got him suspended indefinitely
by A&E Television Networks, LLC. That caused an uproar, with
petitions from Robertson supporters flying and claims that A&E
violated his First Amendment rights. He was then reinstated.
Does this mean that you should let loose with your beliefs
about race, women, gays, or religion at work or in your public social
media? Heck no. You probably aren't bringing in millions of dollars of
revenue to the company. You probably don't have thousands of supporters
who will petition for you. You'll just be fired.
My latest article at AOL Jobs has gotten a huge number of angry comments from readers who swear I'm ignorant about the First Amendment and got this wrong. If you're a regular reader here, you know there's no right to free speech at work. You can refresh your memory by reading about Ozzie Guillen's run-in with free speech at work and 10 Workplace Rights You Think You Have - But Don't.
If you want to read my AOL Jobs piece on Duck Dynasty (or just want to see the comments - over 1500 and climbing), the article is here.
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I appreciate your comments and general questions but this isn't the place to ask confidential legal questions. If you need an employee-side employment lawyer, try http://exchange.nela.org/findalawyer to locate one in your state.