by Amy G. McAndrew and Lisa V. Friesz, Esqs.
Let’s say your company has aggressively confronted employees’ use of social media by instituting a blogging and Internet posting policy and distributing it in your employee handbook. The policy goes further than merely prohibiting employees from making disparaging or defamatory online comments about the company or its employees; it expressly forbids employees from depicting the company in any way over the Internet.
But now one of your union employees has used her own computer to make negative comments about her supervisor on her personal Facebook page. Co-workers—Facebook friends of the employee—see the posts and start chiming in with further smears.
Can you lawfully terminate these employees for violating your social media policy?
Probably not. Here’s why.
NLRB on protected speech
This hypothetical scenario closely resembles the controversy underpinning a complaint that the Nati...(register to read more)
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