On January 30, long-time New York Post sports writer Bart Hubbuch announced that he had been fired for posting a tweet on Inauguration Day in which he listed the dates "12/7/41. 9/11/01. 1/20/17."

He was clearly equating the presidency of Donald Trump with 2 of the worst tragedies in American history. His tweet was met with a barrage of criticism and he quickly apologized. After the tweet in question had been deleted, Hubbuch was reprimanded by Chris Shaw, executive sports editor of the Post, who supposedly said in a phone call, "What are you doing? You live in New York City. There are people even in here that want me to fire you. You're going to take that down right now and apologize or I will fire you."

Hubbard apologized, but one week later he was called in to meet with Shaw and the publication’s senior HR director. He was then fired for both his Inauguration Day tweet and other inappropriate tweets he'd made in the past.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION SUIT.    Hubbuch now is suing the NYPost for wrongful termination because the publication allegedly violated New York State Labor Law § 201-d. That law states that an employee cannot be terminated for "an individual's political activities outside of working hours, off of the employer's premises and without use of the employer's equipment or other property."

Hubbuch says the tweet was sent during non-working hours from his personal device. He further adds that he repeatedly asked Chris Shaw, the executive sports editor of the Post, whether or not any official policy regarding social media conduct existed to which he received no reply.

Among other things, the lawsuit argues that The NYPost has run editorials that have been highly critical of institutions that cracked down on the free expression of political beliefs, which would seem to contradict their decision to fire Hubbuch.

Reached for comment, the New York Post provided this statement:

"We expect our reporters to interact with the public, including on social media, in a professional manner. Unfortunately, Mr. Hubbuch has engaged in a pattern of unprofessional conduct and exhibited serious lack of judgment, including most recently showing disrespect for the victims of Pearl Harbor and ‪9/11."

Alan Milstein, a prominent New York litigator and legal expert doesn’t think of Hubbuch’s case.

"I do not believe the lawsuit has merit. The argument that this was a 'private' Twitter feed makes no sense. Whether one is a journalist, athlete, politician, or any public figure, your Twitter account is part of your public persona. No one follows Mr. Hubbuch because of his private life; they follow him because he is a Post writer."

Milstein also doesn’t think that a Twitter feed is recreational under the Labor Law.