Alisha Arnold, one half of the couple running the site BirthorNot.com and ostensibly crowdsourcing the decision on whether she and her husband should abort their baby just before the legal limit for abortion kicks in, has been fired from her job for the negative implications the stunt has had on her company.
The Eagan Minnesota software company TempWorks distributed a memo to staff confirming that Arnold was terminated by the company for publicity surrounding the “debate” (several news outlets have since quoted Pete Arnold as saying the couple never would have gone through with an abortion, though his wife is adamant she would have) and furthermore, TempWorks has forbidden all employees from maintaining relationships with Arnold on sites like Facebook. It’s an employer mandated de-friending!
A news outlet local to the Arnolds spoke with a local labor law expert, who said the company is legally within their rights for both mandates:
We showed the memo to a University of Minnesota Labor Law Professor. William McGeveran told us private companies do not have a legal obligation to proect the free speech of its employees. He also says employees might not like it, but the company can also tell its employees who they can and cannot be friends with on Facebook and other social networking sites. If employees do not like the restrictions, McGeveran says they have the option of leaving the job.
Arnold, who was referred to by the company as a “grave threat,” told press she was “shocked” and “didn’t expect any of this.”
