is this legal? or unlawful?
Asked by dtrain
Kinda long, but need to explain detail: My employer, An airline (part time) In addition, I'M a writer (earn living) columnist w/ airport newspaper. my airline employer told me i can't write anything about our airline (I agreed not to divulge company info, nor act as a representative of company) but Told him they' can't regulate my freedomn of expression or freedom of press, he claimed I am not to mention any airline info (not even an opinion) nor any co-workers, when i "hinted at" a certain co-worker (no name /no nickname just said in column "a guy i work with" ) boss called me into the office after it was published and claimed I can be terminated.- because co workers knew who my column referred too' and i subjected the co worker to ridicule. theres nothing slanderous about "a guy i know at work" remember I never mention the guys name nor any nickname we call him, remember...my writing gig is separate and i don't write my column under my real name. is this a form of "restraint of trade" is he (airline boss) preventing me from making a living outside work or hurting my free enterprise?

Best Answer:
You can probably be legally terminated for cause which means you will also be ineligible for unemployment benefits. Assuming your employer has confidentiality/non-disclosure policies in place (which every major airline does) you not only violated them, but were warned prior to your publication not to do so. You have no First Amendment defense. You contracted away your right to disclose anything you know by virtue of your employment. You have no restraint of trade defense. You are free to write your column. You just cannot disclose anything that violates your employers confidentiality/non-disclosure policies. Keep in mind that those polices may still be binding upon you even after you are fired and that your employer also has the right to seek remedies against you by initiating a lawsuit but it is unlikely to do so unless it can attribute appreciable damages to your actions.
law firm
Answered by Rathorien L

Are you covered by a collective bargaining agreement? If not, I'd update my resume if I were you. It's likely you can be fired at any time for no reason. On the other hand, you can also quit at any time for no reason.
Answered by mainecpa

Freedom of expression is covered under the US Consitution you are Free to do what you would like however, your Private employer can terminate you if that is against their company policy. So they are free to fire you and you are free to quit.
Answered by www.TheInfoNow.com

Private employers can place all sorts of restrictions on their employees' activities, including forbidding dating between employees.. So you may have to choose between your present job and your column. However, if you write the column under a pen name, how did your boss even know it was you? It seems to me (and I'm not a lawyer) that if you didn't name the employee, the company, or even yourself, you can hardly be violating anyone's privacy!
Answered by aida

I think you're on legally and ethically shaky ground. If "freedom of expression" or "freedom of the press" was a valid way out of non-disclosure contracts, non-disclosure law could not exist in the U.S. Basically, you *voluntarily* limit your constitutional right to free expression by entering into non-disclosure contract with your airline employer. If you don't like that, I suggest you terminate your employment with the airline, and then you won't have this conflict of interests.
Answered by m0dernangel

You have got to be kidding me. You were told not to write about your airline or co-workers and you want to pull the freedom of expression card. First of all it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who the person would be especially if they work for the same airline as you do and please do not try to blow smoke up the a** of the answers community by claiming because you write under a ficitious name none of your co-workers know it is you! Your boss did not say you were not allowed to have this second job/income. He stated you were NOT to write about the airline and your co-workers. Don't be shocked if you get fired and trust me you will not have a legal leg to stand on. That whole freedom of expression or even First Amendment rights will totally go out the window. Is this illegal? Well if you signed a confidentiality agreement which I am sure you did it certainly would be and even without one a good attorney will prove the airline had every right to fire you.
Answered by Shane