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Friday, September 02, 2011

Law - "Social media emerges as battleground for protected speech at work"

From Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law, a Chicago Tribune blog, this long, must-read article today -- some quotes:

It's easy to understand why no business would want employees griping about working conditions on Facebook. Yet, employers are getting into trouble for regulating social media activity.

In the past year, the National Labor Relations Board has brought at least four complaints alleging that businesses have violated labor laws that protect employees from retaliation for office chatter. One of its cases is against a BMW auto dealership in the Chicago area.

The federal scrutiny has alarmed many businesses, including nonunion employers, because the National Labor Relations Act covers most private-sector employees. As a result, businesses are carefully navigating the intersection of traditional labor law and the relatively new social media environment. * * *

The uncertainty about the legal standards for social media prompted the NLRB's acting general counsel last month to release a report detailing the outcome of investigations into 14 charges of unfair labor practices involving social media. The 14 cases are a representative sample of the more than 100 charges that have been filed with the labor board in the past year. The most common issues deal with policies that restrict use of social media or alleged unlawful disciplinary actions, including termination, over the contents of online posts.

The memo attempts to explain why the NLRB prosecuted certain charges and dismissed others. As Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel, said in the memo, "I hope that this report will be of assistance to practitioners and human resource professionals."

ILB: I have located the 24-page NLRB report; access it here.

See also this ILB entry from yesterday, headed "Delaware Circuit Court adopts social networking policy."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 2, 2011 10:06 AM
Posted to General Law Related