Negative Tweets about Boss Are Grounds for Discipline, but Not Termination

Getting into a Twitter war with his boss, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, proved to be an unwise career move for a government legal official. The series of tweets personally attacking the Minister’s politics and administration of the agency violated the code of social media conduct and constituted grounds for termination, the Ministry concluded. The Alberta arbitrator agreed with the first conclusion, but not the second. The official had 7 years of stellar service and his tweet barrage was emotional and not premeditated. “Twitter is full of examples of disastrous exchanges on social media that have led to personal and professional fallout,” noted the arbitrator. Result: The official was reinstated with no loss of pay, benefits or seniority and just a written reprimand [Alberta v Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, 2021 CanLII 56919 (AB GAA), June 29, 2021].