Judge rules Harsharan Sethi, fired from job at publisher of "Cambridge Who's Who" directories, has First Amendment right to blog about ex-boss.
Harsharan Sethi, former director of a management information systems company in Long Island, NY, that publishes "Cambridge Who's Who" directories, took to the blogosphere to blast his ex-employer after he was fired last year. According to the NY Daily News, he blogged that tapes containing personal information on hundreds of thousands of Who's Who members and 1,500 employees had been lost or stolen. He claimed the personal information included names, social security numbers, credit card and banking information and checking account numbers. Yeah a treasure trove for thieves.The company accused him of breaching his employment contract. Nassau Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria begged to differ and ruled Sethi was within his First Amendment rights to keep blogging about his issues with the company. So, this is a warning to other employers out there who feel that they can treat their employees any way they want and then fire them. There are consequences and the negative PR that comes from a disgruntled former employee putting a company on blast for valid reasons isn't in the best interest for any company.
Sethi blew the whistle and they probably terminated him for calling them out on such a serious security breach. There are many more people out there who have the goods on their former employers and would be in their rights to blow the whistle and blog about it. It is obvious that this company doesn't need to drag this disagreement out by filing lawsuit after lawsuit. It will have an adverse effect on the company's bottom line, particularly since there seems to be some truth about Sethi's claims. The current economic climate has led to some employers taking advantage of their staff by piling on more and more duties, while cutting salaries and eliminating benefits and pushing the envelope.
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