Story highlights Jill Filipovic says the Trump critic was expressing her personal opinion, not representing her company

If that's why she was fired, should not have lost her job as a result, Filipovic says

Jill Filipovic is a journalist based in New York and Nairobi, Kenya, and the author of the book "The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness." Follow her on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) Juli Briskman was taking a bike ride when President Donald Trump's motorcade drove by. She did what drivers and bikers often do when something pisses them off on the road: She flipped the motorcade the bird.

Jill Filipovic

No biggie, right? Until a photo of her giving the finger went viral. Briskman identified herself and posted the photo to her own social media accounts, and this week, her employer fired her. The reason they gave her, Briskman says , was that she violated their social media policy.

If that's why Briskman was fired, it sets a frightening precedent. Yes, employees who visibly identify themselves with a company on social media should be careful not to cross major lines: Don't harass people, don't post bigoted and discriminatory content, don't engage in behavior that by definition makes you a hostile force in the workplace (like, say, going to a Nazi rally). Twitter would probably be a better place if professional consequences for harassment and bigotry were more common.

But there's a difference between the kind of behavior that impacts your day job and that which is simply political speech. A white supremacist, for example, may be engaging in political speech by spending their Sunday at a neo-Nazi rally, but they are also a liability as an employee. They are going to discount the intelligence, expertise and authority of any nonwhite boss or manager. If they are in charge of any other employees who aren't white they are going to be less likely to promote those employees and pay them fairly.

That's wrong because it's wrong, but it also undercuts a workplace's general ability to function, and a company's interest in having the best people for the job, regardless of color. And, of course, they are a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen.

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