Education Assistant’s OnlyFans Page & Rights: 900 CHML Interview

Interview Summary

An education assistant in B.C. has been told to discontinue her OnlyFans account and remove all posts from her social media accounts. Kristin MacDonald insists her part-time job as an education assistant was not enough to provide for her and her daughter. Can employers dictate the actions of employees outside of the workplace? Can social media content lead to termination “for cause”?

Fiona Martyn, a Toronto employment lawyer and Associate at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke to Rick Zamperin on 900 CHML to answer these questions and more on employee rights.

Interview Notes

• Rights of union employees: The school board will be able to take disciplinary action based on the terms of MacDonald’s collective bargaining agreement. A collective bargaining agreement determines the parameters of when an employee can be disciplined or let go. Unlike union employees, non-unionized employees can be let go by their employers for any reason.
• Employment contract terms: Employment contracts are not very detailed or specific to an employee’s online presence and the content that they post. Some employers do have policies regarding an employee’s social media content or online presence. For employees that have signed a policy that prohibits accounts like OnlyFans, a violation of the policy could lead to disciplinary action or termination.
• Correlation between the workplace and outside conduct: MacDonald has argued that her social media accounts and online presence do not interfere with her work environment. Employees that are recognizable to the public or the face of a company would be arguably more responsible for their conduct.
• New terms in employment contracts: This situation could influence employers to include terms in an employment contract that stipulate the behaviour and social media use that is permitted by employees.