Teacher Fired Over Facebook Password
A teacher's aide in Michigan was fired after she refused to give the password to her Facebook account to school officials, furthering the growing debate over workers' privacy rights.
In 2011, Kimberly Hester was logged into her Facebook account, while she was not working, and posted a picture of co-workers pants around her ankles with the humorous caption, "Thinking of you."
A parent who happened to be a "friend" of the Facebook account saw the picture and reported it to school officials.
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Hester was then asked for her Facebook password so that school officials could verify the claims. But after refusing to grant access into her personal Facebook page, she was relieved of her duties.
A school official from the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District (ISD), the regional service center for education in Michigan, wrote her a letter after she refused to give them access to her account.
The letter read in part: "In the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly."
She was subsequently fired by Lewis Cass Intermediate School District as an aide in Frank Squires Elementary School in Cassopolis.
The school district wanted to put Hester on a paid administrative leave before they fired her, but understanding that she did nothing wrong she refused once again and chose to go on unpaid leave. Hester is considering using the letter when the two participate in arbitration in May.
"I stand by it," Hester said in a statement. "I did nothing wrong. And I would not, still to this day, let them in my Facebook. And I don't think it's OK for an employer to ask you."
Michigan State Representatives Matt Lori and Aric Nesbitt are working on legislation that would make it illegal for an employer to require current or prospective employees to grant them access to personal Facebook pages. Michigan is one of a number of states that are considering similar legislation.
