Question

A 23-year-old employee attends a weekend party at his friend's house in Boulder, Colorado (where recreational use of marijuana is lawful). At this party, he smokes marijuana and a number of pictures from the party are posted to his Facebook account. His employer sees the pictures from his Facebook account after another employee who is "friends" with him online shows the photos to his supervisor.

The employer does not have a specific drug use policy but he is immediately terminated nonetheless.

Can the employee bring suit against the employer for wrongful termination? What about a tort claim for intrusion upon seclusion or other "invasion of privacy" remedy?

Cite your sources.

Answer 1

Yes, the employee can bring suit against the employer for wrongful termination. The domestic activities of an employee cannot be supervised or controlled by the companies. All the employees have different individual life that they can lead according to their way where no one can interfere. Apart from that, the organization does not have any specific policies related to the drug-use. Thus, the employee can file a lawsuit against the employer for wrongful termination.

The tort of intrusion can be claimed in the context. The employee is not compelled to obey all the official rules in his personal life. He has the full freedom to do what he wants. Any intrusion is highly unlawful. The case falls under intrusion upon seclusion standard. Moreover, he can file a lawsuit against the employee who has informed the employer about his Facebook photos.

The 23 year old employee cannot be terminated by any means only for his private life acts. The violation of employee privacy is highly offensive and punishable. He is permittable for filing cases on breach of privacy, unethical termination, and unethical invasion of personal life.