Derogatory Blog Posts Result In A Justified Dismissal

An Alberta arbitration board has recently released a decision concerning the dismissal of an employee as a result of the contents of the employee's online blog site. In this case, an administrative employee in the Alberta Public Service (the "Grievor") was dismissed after the employer became aware of the contents of her personal blog.

The Grievor's blog contained unflattering comments about a number of her co-workers and management, referring to them as "imbeciles", "idiot savants" and "lunatic-in-charge". After an investigation, the Grievor was interviewed about her blog. Perceiving the Grievor as largely unrepentant, the employer terminated the Grievor's employment.