Brandjack News

By Quentin Langley

It is often said that one way to filter whether a comment to a work colleague crosses line in terms of sexual innuendo is to ask yourself if you would say it in front of your romantic partner. Comments on Twitter should be subject to that filter, but also to whether or not you would say them in front of a client or customer.

The reasoning is obvious: Twitter is a public space. You actually are saying these things in front of your partner and your clients. 

Lisa Greenwood, then a loans officer with Home Point Financial, apparently didn't think this through:

Responses on Twitter were, as you can imagine, ferocious. Apparently, nothing in Greenwood's Twitter profile (since deleted) stated where she worked, but some judicious Googling and searching on Facebook located the information. Most of the tweets were fairly general, asking Home Point about its policy on employing racists. I am guessing the policy, at the time, was that the organisation didn't screen its employees for their political views. 

But at least one activist went for the key issue. 

With dez nuts (@ebony_eyez89) posting:

@HomePointLoans you can't tell me someone who holds this view on the @FLOTUS is not abusing her powers on other minorities @millar15

Once you can credibly link someone's controversial views to job performance, the employer needs to act. Other issues could possibly be weathered, but this one is critical.

And just because other issues can be weathered, doesn't mean they should be. Ask yourself, if your views were gathering this sort of heat, why would your employer want to defend you?

Home Point did not, and, within hours, announced that Greenwood "is no longer employed with Home Point Financial". Getting another job is not going to be easy.