Social Media

A lawsuit filed last year by two captains with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue after they were disciplined for social media posts, has been dismissed. Captain AJ O’Laughlin and Captain Crystal Little filed suit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court last May. It was later removed to federal court.

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As 2019 comes to a close, I thought we could take a look at the top headlines in the Fire Law News. Today we will look at the most popular stories based upon Facebook engagements, likes and shares, and Twitter. Here are Facebook’s Top 10 based on Engagements...

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In a major reversal handed down yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board overruled a 2014 decision to hold that employers may prohibit employees from using their work emails for union activities. The case does not involve firefighters and the National Labor Relations Act does not apply to public employees. However...

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An Atlanta area television station has been investigating EMS personnel sharing images and information protected by medical confidentiality laws in social media. Channel 11’s investigation into former Grady Hospital paramedic Amanda Courtright has widened to other EMS services around the country.

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A Boston firefighter who was fired last year over incendiary social media posts has filed suit to challenge a state civil service ruling that upheld his termination. Octavius Rowe was fired by the Boston Fire Department on April 30, 2018 following a lengthy investigation.

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A Louisiana firefighter who was fired for referring to his fire district’s board of commissioners as “a board of clueless idiots” on Facebook, has lost his First Amendment lawsuit to get his job back. Joseph Larry Moreau, Jr. was fired by St. Landry Fire Protection District No. 3 last year.

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The Massachusetts Civil Service Commission has upheld the termination of an outspoken African American firefighter from Boston who was terminated for his offensive social media posts. Octavius Rowe, a 15 year veteran, was fired on April 30, 2018 after a lengthy investigation.

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A magistrate judge has recommended the dismissal of the First Amendment claims of a white Columbia fire captain who threatened on Facebook to run over Black Lives Matter protestors. However, he also recommended that the Captain be allowed to make his case to a jury that his termination constituted race discrimination.

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A social media post advocating the extermination of immigrants being held in detention camps has impacted two North Carolina firefighters, a father and a son, and two different fire departments. Caleb Folwell was a career firefighter at the North Chatham Fire Department.

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The US District Court for the District of Nevada handed down a ruling this week denying the request of the female firefighter at the center of a revenge porn scandal in the Las Vegas Fire Department, to proceed anonymously. The firefighter, who up to this point has been referred to as Jane Doe, filed suit in March alleging sexual harassment.

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Two Brevard firefighters have been fired over a social media post that criticized the city manager for wearing a military uniform to a memorial day parade that was a mix of two different branches. Former firefighter Richard Carl Travis shared a photo of Brevard City Manager Jim Fatland on Facebook along with the comment...

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Two captains with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue have filed suit claiming the department violated their First Amendment rights by disciplining them for their social media posts. Captain AJ O’Laughlin and Captain Crystal Little filed suit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court last week.

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The Polk County fire captain at the center of controversy involving the Snapchat video from the scene of a fatal fire, has resigned. Captain James Williams was facing a new investigation about additional photos and videos he posted from emergency incidents, and for lying to investigators.

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A Polk County, Florida fire captain is facing tough questions about his actions at the scene of a fatal house fire last November. Loretta Pickard died in the fire on November 23, 2018. Polk County Fire Rescue Captain James Williams was suspended for sending a Snapchat video from the scene.

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