NLRB and the Facebook Firing

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) settled with American Medical Response of Connecticut on February 7th with regard to the so called "facebook firing" in which the employee posted disparaging remarks about her supervisor on her facebook page.

The employee posted these comments, then other employees responded creating a string of negative responses on her facebook page. The employer found out and subsequently fired the employee, stating the employee violated the company's internet policy.

The NLRB investigation resulted in the determination that the postings were "concerted activity" and thus protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Section 7 prohibits employers from interfering with employee efforts to work together to improve the terms and conditions of their workplace/employment.

The NLRB ruled that an employer's attempt to restrict personal use of the internet outside of the workplace or the scope of work, including the use of social media sites, to communicate with co-workers was a violation of Section 7.

Despite the fact that the company could show the employee was a poor performer, it was forced to provide an undisclosed settlement to the employee for violation of Section 7 of the NLRA. The company also agreed to revise its policies to protect the rights of employees to discuss working conditions, wages, work hours, and other conditions of employment.

Companies should review their policies to determine if they contain overly restrictive covenants that could be construed as violating Section 7 of the NLRA as demonstrated by this settlement.