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Yes

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Once you put your life onto a -public- website, it becomes public. Simple as that. Nobody said you had to tag yourself on that picture of you and your friends getting high, or post a public comment to a friend about how drunk you were one night.
If an employee did something that directly effected a company's image or reputation, and was stupid enough to publicize it on a social networking site, I say the employer has every right to drop the employee on the spot. Examples of such actions: pictures of illegal actions with a company logo in the picture (on a shirt, sign, etc), telling or blogging about going to work under the influence.
If, however, their actions didn't effect the company, they have no right taking someone's personal business and using it to fire an employee, especially if the employer's basis is based on personal beliefs against a certain action. Examples: unwanted premarital pregnancy, occasional drunken rant over the weekend.
In the case of hiring, looking onto MySpace and Facebook is a great way to see how a person really behaves, not just the ten-minute facade you get in an interview.

I say, if they ruin their career, it's their fault for being so public about their private lives.

Learn more about this author, Jade Rose.
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