CULTURE: EMPLOYER OVERREACH & THE SPEECH POLICE

Written by Michael Thervil

With cultural shifts in American society comes cultural shifts in the American workplace. More American workers distrust their employers more than even. The reason for this is because Americans have been increasingly finding themselves working for employers that can and will fire them on the dime for just about anything that may deem socially unacceptable.

This is so much the case that employers have somehow gained the ability to fire American workers that are off the clock for things such as minor arrests or accusations of sexual misconduct, to what American workers may post on their social media accounts, even though what they may post has nothing to do with their employer. The question many Americans are scratching their heads trying to figure out is why and how did an employer’s ability to fire an employee for things that are unrelated to the employer become so prevalent?

Since there hasn’t been a direct answer to address this question, the phenomenon is known as employer overreach. Employer overreach occurs when an employer either attempts to or outright exerts control over the thoughts, ways, and actions of an employee either off the clock or violates the rights of employees on the clock. In short, it’s the misuse and possible abuse of power that an employer has over an employee that entails the employers embarking on discriminatory retaliatory acts toward the employee and harassment towards an employee for something that may or may not have a direct impact on the employer.

The cited rationale for an employer that engages in employer overreach may stem from the fear of the social repercussions backlash that the actions of an employee may generate as blowback towards an employer, thus prompting the employer to administratively separate themselves from the employee in question. Because of this, the only real true backlash is the diminished moral that goes unaddressed for not only the employee that works for the company but the broader implications on employees that work for other employers.

Beyond employer overreach, there is another social phenomenon that should be addressed and that is the failure of employers to preserve the rights of employees who may come under social backlash for other social reasons that may not have anything to do with the employer at all. In the case of media personalities, public figures, and celebrities who may express unpopular views and opinions, there have been a growing number of instances where the detractors of these media personalities, public figures, and celebrities have engaged in not only media smear campaigns of slander and libel, but have engaged in various “mob” actions of harassment which include repeatedly calling the targeted individuals employers place of business complaining about how they feel and threatening to take broader disruptive actions towards the by stifling the employers ability to generate profits thus threatening the livelihood of the employer economic future.

In both instances, not only does it make employees feel as if they have to walk on eggshells due to the fear and risk of possibly saying the wrong thing(s), but the actions of both the employers and the social mob of detractors essentially violates that employee right to free speech which is supposed to be guaranteed and protected by the 1st Amendment within the U.S. Constitution. The more this social phenomenon is allowed to fester, the more the social fabric of American society will erode. Even more importantly, this increases the level of distrust American workers have towards their employers.

In a country where you can be fired for engaging in things not only off the clock or because of one’s activities that are completely unrelated to their employer has set a disastrous course for American society in which it communicates that it's ok to violate one's right to exercise their right to free speech in America.