You're conflating the 1st Amendment with free speech. The former is rooted in the latter. Free speech is a natural right, applicable to all situations. This is a free speech issue.
This is the argument used by people who think you should be able to say anything on Facebook, Twitter etc. And the response is always the same - you have the right to say what you want, but there are consequences. In this case, firing.
You made the same mistake as the higher comment. Yes, this is how it works legally in the US. But the concept of free speech is not tied to US law. It is a free speech issue and it’s perfectly conceivable that a countries laws would reflect these rights for social media protections.
You’re agreeing with the op. You do have free speech on social media. You also have consequences. Same as on the street, work, school, playground, grocery store, car dealership…
Employers should not and can not apply consequences for any reason they like. You could say “you are free to wear any color shirt you like, but if you pick the wrong one, you could be fired”.
That may be true in America but it isn’t in other countries. Arguably some speech on social media should be protected and not a reason for employment termination.
in germany you have the right to publicly share your own opinion about your employer. you may not insult them, but you may well criticize them or their products, working conditions or anything else that is factually true.
you may also share your political opinions, something US companies seemingly often like to stop, as long as you are not disruptive.
>Arguably some speech on social media should be protected and not a reason for employment termination.
Why? Not saying I disagree, but I find the selective support of this concept interesting. So I'm curious to hear your argument and the framework for determining what speech should be protected on a private platform.
The problem in my view is tech companies have squeezed their way in to our lives and managed to get the majority to post their private conversations publicly. So posting a mild complaint about your place of work on social media has become today's version of complaining to a friend in person or on the phone.
Yes I do think employers do have reason to want to protect their image online, but I also don't like the situation where people are always under public watch. So either you should be allowed to say these things on social media without losing your job, or social media companies should be cracked down on for what they have done.