Work may NOT own you 24/7

[Racket_Man]

this is sort of a responce to the thread started by JLG about 3 weeks ago

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=70738

I came across this article on another board. it seems the US National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of ILLEGALLY terminating an employee for a post and discussion on Facebook.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/bu...book.html?_r=1

there are specific circumstances to this case BUT in the broader context this might mean companies may have to be very carefull in how they present, word and execute their social media policies in the future. the article does detail what the NLRB considers "protected labor type" speech.

Mods if you feel this might possibly cross into Fratching territory , shut this thread down and I will take it over there.

[Aisling]

Social media may not be legal grounds for firing

In what labor officials and lawyers view as a ground-breaking case involving workers and social media, the National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page.

This is the first case in which the labor board has stepped in to argue that workers’ criticisms of their bosses or companies on a social networking site are generally a protected activity and that employers would be violating the law by punishing workers for such statements.

...

(The National Labor Relations Act) gives workers a federally protected right to form unions, and it prohibits employers from punishing workers — whether union or nonunion — for discussing working conditions or unionization. The labor board said the company’s Facebook rule was “overly broad” and improperly limited employees’ rights to discuss working conditions among themselves.

Moreover, the board faulted another company policy, one prohibiting employees from making “disparaging” or “discriminatory” “comments when discussing the company or the employee’s superiors” and “co-workers.”

...

An administrative law judge is scheduled to begin hearing the case on Jan. 25.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/bu...9facebook.html

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This sounds like good news to me. But I wouldn't go flouting any rules at work, yet, since the courts have yet to rule.

Where do you think the line between getting to kvetch about work and being disloyal is? And do you view Facebook and similar social media outlets more as conversations with friends and family, or standing in a public place shouting into a megaphone?

[JambaBamba]

Labor Board: Employers Can't Fire Workers Over Facebook Posts

Link to the brief: http://slatest.slate.com/id/2274187/entry/4/ (original was in the New York Times).

In At-Will states they don't have to cite a reason so my guess is that it's still not wise to share things you don't want getting around.

[MoonCat]

I'd like to see common sense prevail, as well as individual rights.

Social forums may seem like private conversations, but people should always remember that what you post online can usually be seen by anybody that cares to look. I know some sites have a setting to allow only one's "friends" to look at them, but I don't know that most people set up their pages that way. Comments posted on social networking sites are rarely "private" in the strict sense.

Employers are much more internet-savvy than they used to be. They often use FB & other sites to interact with customers, do surveys & other marketing actions, so you need to be aware that the minute you identify your place of employment, you become in many readers' minds a representative of that company, whether that was your intention or not. It's common sense not to intentionally trash your boss, your company or your co-workers by name in a public forum. It makes you look bad, it hurts your company (who pays your wages) and if it's bad enough someone may try to sue for your libel (they may not win, but anyone can file a lawsuit!) Companies don't want to see their employees making remarks in a public forum that could result in the company being sued, for ex, in the case of racist, sexist or other discriminatory comments being posted in such a way that the remarks could be associated with the company. Also, many companies have a policy about internet usage. Always find out what this is and how strictly they enforce it, because they will expect you to abide by it. Saying you didn't know about it may not mean you're not bound by it.

I'll be interested to see how that judge rules in this case.

[Dips]

Move to Check It Out since it has a link.

Having this in the correct forum also makes it easier for other folks to find when searching.

[Aisling]

Sorry Dips, I didn't think citing the source after extensive quoting mandated this subfolder.

[chrislb]

Anyone dumb enough to post incriminating evidence on facebook, myspace or any other site that employers regularly check deserves to be fired. It is another thing to let off a little steam after a bad shift. Too many bosses these days either don't or won't understand that fact. I hate having to censor or hide my words from prying eyes. That it is necessary makes it doubly offensive.

[Solumina]

I hate to say it but anything you do in public, on the internet or IRL, is something that can effect your job. If you post pics of getting drunk and making a fool of your self is that really any different than running into your boss while smashed at a bar? Either way it can really knock down your chance at getting a promotion and depending on your field it can cost you your job.

I know people are really concerned with their privacy but the truth is that the internet is pretty public. That being said I'm totally against employers asking for login information to try and access personal messages and that sort of thing as those are private and should be treated the same as any direct private conversation between people, in other words it is nobody else’s business unless a complaint is made one of those people.

[fireheart]

If you post pics of getting drunk and making a fool of your self is that really any different than running into your boss while smashed at a bar? Either way it can really knock down your chance at getting a promotion and depending on your field it can cost you your job.

Plenty of my coworkers from my old store have been known to get smashed WITH their boss (department manager and maybe store 2ic or 3ic). Current store-mostly the same deal.

[PepperElf]

i'm voting spoon

cos as long as the information is open to the public you cannot stop people from reading it.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have several people from work on my Facebook (including my boss, though he wasn't my boss when we first became FB friends), but I hardly post on FB, let alone about work. When I do it's usually commenting on friends' posts. I mostly use FB to keep tabs on my college friends who are scattered all over the east coast. The vast majority of my "friends" are not people I'm friends with (people from HS I was never friends with in the first place, or if I was hadn't been for years).

I don't know if my company has a specific "posting on social media sites" policy; I only know of their "talking to the media" policy (which is, in a nutshell, "don't").

[PepperElf]

i dunno if mine does either. i havent used fb in a while though so it's not like they'll find anything there to use against me.

same with myspace. i think i havent updated in maybe 6 months if not more...

[BlaqueKatt]

i'm voting spoon

oh come on this fence is really comfy, and I'm the only one sitting on it...tons of room......I'm lonely

[PepperElf]

oh come on this fence is really comfy, and I'm the only one sitting on it...tons of room......I'm lonely

yeah but the fence does bad things to your buttocks depending on where you sit on it

[Racket_Man]

Move to Check It Out since it has a link.

Having this in the correct forum also makes it easier for other folks to find when searching.

Sorry I though you were refering to my OP but now I see it was 2 threads merged together. I though I put mine in CIO.