Social Media Policies in the Workplace

In October 2010, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint against American Medical Response (AMR), a Connecticut ambulance company. This action was coined the “Facebook Firing” case. The complaint centered on AMR's termination of an employee after her Facebook postings depicted negative comments about the company and the employee's supervisor. The NLRB took the position that the firing violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the Act). Section 7 of the Act gives all employees (union and nonunion) the right to engage in protected concerted activities that are usually group activities (two or more employees acting together) attempting to improve working conditions, such as wages and benefits. Employers may not interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of rights relating to organizing, forming, joining or assisting a labor organization for collective-bargaining purposes, or engaging in protected concerted activities, or refraining from any such activity. An employee is engaging in Section 7 activities when he or she complains about wages, hours or working conditions on behalf of himself and other employees, and may not be disciplined or discharged for these actions. The NLRB argued that, pursuant to the Act, the Facebook postings constituted an exercise of the employee's protected right to discuss the terms and conditions of her employment.