Can I be lawfully terminated for an inappropriate facebook comment?

[john]

I made an inappropriate comment on my personal facebook page about my boss on company time and on a company laptop computer. My page is private and I only accept people that I know personally and I'm friends with. How my boss found out was he had a keyword logger / screen capture type of software on the computer and was able to see my page.

Now I know what I said was wrong, but my question is this legal? I never signed any type of document stating that this type of software was on my company laptop. And is it legal he was able to see my facebook page with the screen capture software when my account is private? If it helps I was employed in the state of Maryland
Also, in the facebook comment I never mentioned my boss's name.

[massivemask780]

Yes he could since you were using the company computer
won't matter if your account is private because they can legaly monitor any computer that they own

[Sylvia]

This is perfectly legal. Most companies and government agencies hire employees "at will". This means that they can terminate you for any reason. Your boss has reason, however, because you were on company time doing personal business (which is considered stealing) and using a company computer. I'm sure if you look up in your employee handbook, there will be something that says it's grounds for termination/suspension to steal company time and to conduct personal business while at work. They don't have to let you know that they are using a special software; most people are smart enough to know this is done.

What you did was not very smart. Many people aren't very smart when it comes to social media. Good luck in your new job search.