Ashley Johnson worked at Brixx Pizza in Charlotte, North Carolina. During one of her lunch shifts, a couple stayed for three hours, forcing Ashley to remain past her scheduled hours. They left her a tip of only $5.00, much lower than would be expected for the total bill that they incurred. Ashley was quite upset and, when she got home, vented on Facebook by calling them cheap and also mentioning the restaurant by name. Two days later, Ashley was confronted by her employer about the post. Despite her having few Facebook friends and strong privacy settings, Brixx had learned about the rant. They fired her based on two components of company policy: (1) speaking disparagingly about customers and (2) casting the restaurant in a negative light on social networks.

Was the employer within its legal right to terminate her employment?

Is the termination a violation of Ashley's privacy?