Can You Be Fired for Being a Racist on Your Own Time? {Asylum}

Jul 12th 2009 3:22PM In almost every state, private employment is subject to the at-will employment doctrine, i.e., either party can end their employment relationship for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all, so long as it does not otherwise violate the law.

The exceptions are: people subject to an individual employment contract, people who are members of a union with a collective bargaining agreement, and public employees, who enjoy limited first amendment rights.

If you're a private employee, and you publicly articulate an opinion or off-duty conduct that your employer determines has cast it in a negative light, they can fire you, just as you can quit an employer that casts you in a negative light. It's that simple. The first amendment does not apply to private employment.

If you're a public employee, you are protected so long as your speech is political in conduct and is not otherwise disruptive in form.

This, of course, is what an employer CAN do - not what it SHOULD do as a matter of morality or good business practices.