Employee's Attempt to Have Me Reprimanded Over Facebook Comment

[Caliluv353]

When an employee in my former department (in retaliation) filed a complaint against me for a Facebook message, I was scolded by HR for being "hurtful" but my boss ultimately decided that she couldn't/wouldn't take action because it was on FB and had nothing to do with the company. I recently took to FB to proclaim how happy I was after being at my current job for a whole year. I stated that I left a "suck ass job" with a bunch of ingrates (or something similar). I never mentioned anyone specific or even mentioned the name of the company I work for. One of my FB "friends" must have relayed the message because some woman (whom I've only had 2 conversations with in the 2 years I worked with her) took that as a personal attack and not only called me a racial slur but filed a complaint as well. Are there any rules that protect me from getting harassed by these people I used to work with? I have an opinion and the right to express that. I'm afraid to so much as walk down the hall and scratch my nose without someone complaining that I tried to give them the middle finger (I wouldn't put that past some of these people). This is getting ridiculous.

[eerelations]

You are correct - you have a legal right to express your opinions. In addition, your employer has a legal right to discipline you for expressing those opinions. There is no law anywhere in the US that prohibits this.

The only exception to this would be if your employer is the government and the opinions you expressed were about the government.

[Beth3]

Are there any rules that protect me from getting harassed by these people I used to work with? No. You're free to express your opinions and you're free to experience the repercussions of doing so, whether negative or positive. There's also something to be said about using judgment regarding which opinions to voice (and where) and which opinions to keep to yourself. It's called using discretion.