Unsurprisingly, the woman in the video was identified, and her name quickly became attached to the story.

Also unsurprisingly, she is now unemployed. Once the video footage came to the attention of the woman’s employer, she lost her job.

This incident, like the well-publicized case of a Hydro One employee fired for making vulgar and obnoxious statements to a female reporter on Mother’s Day 2015, should serve as a pointed reminder and warning to employees – offensive and injudicious off-duty conduct can jeopardize your employment.

To say that smartphones are ubiquitous would be an understatement; and to assume that one can engage in public displays of racism, vulgarity, or loutishness without being caught on camera is now hopelessly naïve. Rather, employees should assume that such conduct will find its way onto social media, and – for all intents and purposes – onto their resumes.

In the age of background checks and social media, a prospective employee’s printed resume is only the beginning of what an employer might be able to learn about the candidate. I routinely recommend to my employer clients that – in addition to running detailed background checks where the nature of the position warrants it – they run a basic Google search on anyone they consider hiring. With just a few simple keystrokes, an employer can often access social media postings and other content generated and/or shared by a candidate, and can frequently find any notoriety attached to the individual.