Free speech, but be prepared for consequences

This past Friday, a video of a woman wearing a British Airways stewardess uniform on a rant about Nigerian passengers surfaced on Snapchat. It is not known yet if she is a real employee. If she is, this is serious stuff. If not, it's not funny at all. Either way, it's serious stuff and it's not funny, but I'm making the distinction because an employee has an obligation to represent their employer in a professional manner even when they're off-duty. And she was wearing a uniform supposedly on her way to her shift/flight, so if this is a joke, it's malicious.

Granted this is British Airways, but British law does understand the importance of free speech. The problem is, the general population doesn't understand what it means. In the US, it simply means one cannot be prosecuted for criticizing the government. People have taken it to mean they can say anything without consequences. Wrong!

If an employee's behavior, even outside of work, reflects poorly on the employer, there should be consequences. This is not the same as suppressing free speech. But if someone is exercising their rights to be offensive, they should be prepared for disciplinary action, including termination of employment. I feel bad for BA and all employers who have to do damage control because of rogue employees who do not understand the ABCs: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequences.

Note there's nothing here about prosecution, since it is not an illegal activity. Employment is usually at-will, so unless termination is done in violation of the law, it's simply a wise business decision. Unions may make termination harder, but generally they don't take too kindly to hate speech, either. Cut your losses before you lose business due to the bad publicity propagating like uncontrollable weeds through social media. But of course the employees will argue they're exercising their rights to free speech. So the employer is exercising their rights to hire and fire. That's fair.

So, reader, I am asking for your stories. Have you come across questionable or hateful content masqueraded as free speech? How do we balance our rights to voice our opinion and the rights of others not to be harmed by it?

As always, please keep it civil and relevant. I promise I will refrain from commenting on your experience, but I might be curious enough to ask questions to better understand your story.n