LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. – A Lincoln County woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer and claims that the company wrongfully fired her for social media posts she made under a pseudonymous account.
Chloe Happe targets her former employer, financial services company Block Inc., in the lawsuit.
Social media giant X (formerly known as Twitter) is believed to be funding the lawsuit to some extent. Commenting on the matter in March, X chairman Elon Musk said of Happe and the lawsuit , “Supporting your right to freedom of speech.”
The lawsuit was initially filed in the Lincoln County Circuit Court on March 28, 2024, more than four months after Happe says she was fired from her job at Block Inc.
The top 5 speeding corridors in the St. Louis area Happe says she first joined Block as an employee in 2019, serving as a customer support representative and a project manager over the course of several years before she was fired.
According to the lawsuit, Happe made two posts from X account @samsarashawty that the company later questioned her over before she was fired. Happe claims that these posts were made from a pseudonymous and satirical account that purported to be a “a young, married Kurdistani woman.”
The lawsuit contends that Happe only used that X account while she was off-duty and away from the workplace. It also alleges that she did not post about Block or work-related matters on the account and that the account was a way for her to “express her political views, opinions and beliefs.”
The lawsuit cites two posts that Happe claims led to her dismissal. One post reportedly offered a view on the conflict in Gaza last October after attacks on Israel. Another offered a view around a transgender person using a restroom. Both posts have since been deleted, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Block’s HR department spoke virtually with Happe on Oct. 30, 2023, and addressed “reports of things Happe said on X,” showing screenshots of the two post. Happe says this came after both posts were deleted and the company did not disclose how it obtained the screenshots. She also claims she initially denied making the posts out of fear she would be in trouble.
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According to the lawsuit, the company spoke with Happe about the posts again a few days later, and she was terminated from her job on Nov. 21, 2023. At the time, Block reportedly stated that the two deleted posts “violated company policy.”
In the lawsuit, Happe alleges she was “terminated solely because she expressed political views, opinions or beliefs with which Block disagreed” and that “Block’s own policies did not prohibit” posts in the manner of which she created.
Happe claims that Block violated its own policy on employee speech and also violated Missouri laws. In the lawsuit, she seeks to be reinstated in her previous role with Block, at least $2,000 for financial damages and judgement declaring that Block’s termination was unlawful.
As of May 3, the case has been moved to federal court, according to Missouri court records.
Coincidentally, Block and X, two companies with ties to the lawsuit, were both co-founded by St. Louis native Jack Dorsey.
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