Last month, a Texas employer fired a new hire over Twitter before the new hire showed up for her first day of work, causing a frenzy of social media activity and some negative publicity for the employer. The day before starting her new job at a local pizzeria, a teenage woman tweeted:

“Ew I start this [expletives] job tomorrow.”

The next day the pizzeria owner replied on Twitter to her stating:

“And…no you don’t start that job today! I just fired you! Good luck with your no money, no job life!”

The woman then tweeted the following:

“I got fired over Twitter.”

Thereafter, the woman amassed thousands of new Twitter followers, many of whom tweeted negative comments regarding the owner’s decision to deliver the termination news over Twitter. For example, one commenter tweeted:

“Why would you fire someone over Twitter? How unprofessional can an adult be?”

This story highlights just how quickly employment decisions broadcast over social media can “go viral,” potentially creating serious public relations issues for an employer.