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An employee in your organization was discharged after she posted comments about the company — and possible state labor code violations — to her Facebook page. Her comments drew responses from other employees who were “Facebook friends.” Claiming that she was terminated in retaliation for those postings, the employee, who was not represented by a union, filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Will she be successful?
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Answer: |
Maybe. Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees have the right to discuss wages and other conditions of work with their coworkers. In a second successful settlement of an unfair labor practice claim regarding employee Facebook postings, the NLRB approved a settlement agreement between an internet retailer and a former employee who was discharged after she posted comments about her employer on her social media page.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the employee will receive lost earnings and the employer must post a notice for 60 days stating that employees have the right to post comments about terms and conditions of employment on their social media pages and that they will not be terminated or otherwise punished for such conduct. Commenting on the settlement, Joseph Frankl, regional director of the NLRB Region 20, noted that “… the employer has recognized the rights of its employees to use social networking sites to comment about their working conditions.”
Source: Build.com settles charge of unlawful discharge for comments posted on Facebook with NLRB agreement in San Francisco, April 27, 2011, National Labor Relations Board, http://www.nlrb.gov.
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