University of Tennessee’s seem to have no problem with exposing students to Sex Week gems such as an “Aphrodisiac Cooking Class”.

So it will be fascinating to hear the defense in a case brought by a former University of Tennessee staffer against the the institution over online comments about a dirty microwave oven that led to her termination.

A former staffer at the University of Tennessee at Martin says she was fired after she voiced her support online for cleaning a filthy microwave oven, but her case against the institution will likely have more to do with the free speech rights and responsibilities of administrative employees than with dirty dishes.

The microwave in question was housed near the information technology security department’s help desk, where plaintiff Angela J. Fortner served as IT manager and supervisor of about 17 full- and part-time employees until her termination last October.

Nineteen months prior to that, in March 2012, Fortner was invited to join the private Facebook group “Crazy Adventures at the UTM Helpdesk,” created by a former student employee. On May 10, another member of that group posted a picture of and criticized a mess that had been left in the microwave, which drew comments from several members, including Fortner.

“I agree with [the original poster] too!!!” Fortner wrote the next day.

The engagement apparently led to action. On May 14, another member posted “This thing sparkles now. WHAT.”

A screenshot of those posts was provided to Inside Higher Ed by Fortner’s attorney, Michael L. Weinman. Dated Oct. 12, 2013, the screenshot suggests the group existed for more than a year before the university responded to it.

Fortner, described in the complaint as “an exemplary employee [who] had never been subjected to any disciplinary actions as an employee,” was on Oct. 11, 2013, asked to meet with J. Phillip Bright, director of human resources, and her supervisor, Terry Lewis, to “discuss issues involving her employment.”

“Lewis stated that because [Fortner] had joined the Facebook group, viewed some of the information on the group’s page, and did not ‘do’ anything about the group that she had two options: resign or be terminated,” the complaint reads. “Lewis and Bright then produced a resignation form that had already been prepared and ready prior to the meeting.”

According to the complaint, Fortner says her participation in the Facebook group was constitutionally protected speech, and that the institution’s handling of her termination violated both university policy and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.