By FireRescue1 Staff
HENRICO, Va. — A firefighter was suspended without pay after racist Facebook comments he allegedly posted online surfaced this week.
The firefighter, who has not been named, posted comments regarding a woman “trying to find her black baby daddy” and profanity-laced comments made toward President Obama and the first lady.
One of the posts read that the firefighter is “tired of having diversity shoved down our throats and hiring people based on skin color or gender, even though they aren’t fully qualified.”
When asked if a firefighter’s personal Facebook comments should impact their professional life, Henrico County Director of Human Resources Elliot Hansen said told NBC it depends.
“It really depends like the extent of what it is. If it is really their beliefs and what they think, then it shouldn’t affect that much. But if it’s really attacking someone in their workplace, then yes,” Hansen said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said that while it does support First Amendment rights, people do become subject to their employer’s social media policy -- even when it comes to personal accounts.
“Employees are free to express themselves as private citizens on social media sites to the degree that their content does not impair professional relationships in the workplace, impede the performance of their job duties or negatively affect the public perception of Henrico County,” the county’s policy states.
An investigation is underway regarding the posts.