What year did the NLRB start accepting charges related to social media?

What year did the NLRB start accepting charges related to social media?

2010
In 2010, the National Labor Relations Board, an independent federal agency that enforces the Act, began receiving charges in its regional offices related to employer social media policies and to specific instances of discipline for Facebook postings.

What does the NLRA say about social media?

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) states that employees have the right to use social media to share information about pay, benefits, and working conditions with coworkers but that individually complaining about some aspect of work does not rise to “concerted activity” absent some relation to group action.

What does the NLRB say about social media in the workplace?

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reversed the decision of an administrative law judge (ALJ) and held lawful an employer’s social media policy prohibiting disparagement of the company and others, “inappropriate communications,” disclosing confidential information, posting photos of coworkers, or using the …

What is the NLRB guidance on social media policies?

For example, the NLRB found that adopting a no-retaliation policy for employees that choose to report inappropriate social media activities is lawful because it does not impose a duty on employees to report social media activities but encourages employees to speak up, and this could improve employee discussion of …

Can an employer’s social media policy violate the National Labor Relations Act?

Section 8 provides that an employer violates the NLRA by interfering with an employee’s rights under Section 7. Section 7 rights apply to even non-unionized workforces, and in recent years, employers’ social media policies have come under scrutiny as possible means of violating an employee’s Section 7 rights.

Is a social media policy legal?

Social media policies can be unlawful. In 1935, Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act to protect the rights of employees, encourage collective bargaining and curtail dangerous workplace policies.

What kind of social media posts are protected by the NLRA what kind of posts are not protected?

Employee social media postings that do not constitute concerted activity—including comments made solely by and on behalf of an employee, or “mere griping” without an appeal to take action—are not protected by the NLRA.

Can an employer discipline an employee for social media posts?

Private companies and employers can discipline or fire an employee for what they post on social media. There are, however, a few exceptions to this rule. In general, employers cannot fire you for posting: Truthful statements about working conditions, like harassment or unsafe working conditions.

Can an employer regulate social media?

For example, the California Constitution, at Article I, Section 1, gives every citizen a right to privacy, and California Labor Code Section 980 prohibits employers from asking employees for their social media log-ins and passwords or asking them to access their social media accounts on demand.

Can employers prohibit employees from posting on social media?

Ultimately, employees are free to use their social media platforms to post as they please, but that does not mean they are free from disciplinary action by their employer. Similarly, employers cannot discipline or terminate an employee engaged in protected activity.

Can your boss fire you for social media posts?

Since California is an at-will employment state — and California Labor Code 2922 states that at-will employees “may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other” — employers can fire employees for anything, including their social media posts.

Can companies fire you for social media posts?

Can your employer dictate what you post on social media?

Can companies fire you for social media?

What does the NLRB say about social media?

The NLRB and Social Media The National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employees to act together to address conditions at work, with or without a union. This protection extends to certain work-related conversations conducted on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Is your social media activity protected by the Labor Relations Act?

The National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employees to act together to address conditions at work, with or without a union. This protection extends to certain work-related conversations conducted on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Are employees’ comments on social media protected by employment law?

An employee’s comments on social media are generally not protected if they are mere gripes not made in relation to group activity among employees. The third report, issued May 30, 2012, examined seven employer policies governing the use of social media by employees.

What does the NLRB say about “reasonably construed” work rules?

In Boeing Company, the NLRB overruled the “reasonably construed” prong established in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia (2004), which held that a work rule that did not otherwise violate the NLRA would be found unlawful if employees would reasonably construe it to prohibit NLRA rights.