| Continuing on this subject – employees and employers alike should be on guard and remind themselves of the fact that EVERYONE could see what’s being written – and consider the ramifications of those messages. Over 100 issues of this nature were brought before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last year with employees asserting their rights to tap out posts, tweets and other social media missives that didn’t quite set well with employers. Some employers eager to put the quash on employee bantering are hurriedly issuing social media policies in an attempt to rein in such behavior and are finding themselves infringing on employee rights protected by 75 years of labor laws. Employees can flare about their bosses impunity, but may run the risk of getting fired for a foolhardy twitter-slam. Whether the chatter takes place in the break room or online, we’re told it’s a right given, unionized or not, by the 1935 labor laws – like it or not. Cases thus far have been very fact specific, so don’t look for a rule of thumb here. What is most important here is that everyone exercise the prudence of the “Grandmother Rule”. Don’t write ANYTHING ANYWHERE that you wouldn’t want your Grandmother to read and know you wrote it, and we’re all good….that is of course if yours is/was like either of mine, bless them both! |
