Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich resigned after a backlash ensued from a $1,000 donation he made six years ago for the Prop 8 campaign. Prop 8 was a California ballot proposition that passed in November 2008.

The highly-qualified executive has a strong technical reputation, according to the Associated Press. Eich created the JavaScript and helped write the code to run Netscape’s Navigator web browser before co-founding Mozilla.

The company’s chairwoman, Mitchell Baker, discussed the delicate balancing act of equality and free speech in her blog post announcing Eich’s resignation.

"Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech," Baker said, as reported by the Associated Press.

"Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard.”

The Associated Press noted that according to Lewis Maltby, president of National Workrights Institutes that Eich’s resignation should be a chilling reminder to workers at all levels that their off-duty behavior and or personal opinions could still cost them their jobs if their employers are worried about a backlash hurting their business.

New York and a few other states keep employers from firing workers for political activity, but those protections are also limited.

Terminations of lower-level employees have raised even more troubling questions about worker rights than Eich’s stepping down, Maltby said. Some female employees have been fired for Facebook pictures where they show their bikinis on the beach, and a teacher has lost her job for another Facebook photo that showed her holding a beer.

“There is no clear line,” Maltby said, as noted by the Associated Press. “The line is whatever offends your boss or the CEO.”

Chic-fil-A Inc. President Dan Cathy’s opposition to gay marriage has created controversy for the Atlanta-based company famous for its fried chicken sandwiches and closing on Sundays. But despite the furor and the threats for boycotts, he has maintained his position.

Though some gay rights activists and commentators welcomed Eich’s departure, there were those unhappy with what happened. A prominent gay blogger rallied against the pressure that led to the tech executive’s departure.

"You want to squander the real gains we have made by argument and engagement by becoming just as intolerant of others' views as the Christians?," Sullivan asked.

"You've just found a great way to do this. It's a bad, self-inflicted blow. And all of us will come to regret it."