THE CASE A company terminated two employees for Facebook posts in which they com
ID: 356036 • Letter: T
Question
THE CASE A company terminated two employees for Facebook posts in which they complained about the company's managers and joked about working at the company. The company perceived the comments as vulgar and rude and accused the employees of ranting about the different ways they were going to break rules and cause chaos. The employees felt the company shouldn't take their posts seriously. They asserted that the company couldn't stop them from talking or joking about their jobs online. They filed an unfair labor charge saying their comments were protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because they dealt with work conditions. Were they successful?Explanation / Answer
1.
The employees will not be successful in their case because their activities and rant against their employees, will not fall under the category of protected concerted activities as prescribed in NLRA.
The protected concerted activities are considered when an employee or group of employees interact among themselves to improve the working conditions and other terms in the company, or these employees interact with the employers by themselves or with the help of their representative to bargain with the employers constructively to improve the working conditions and other scenarios at the job. But, it was not the case when they created a joke of working in the company and complained against the manager in social media. It was neither an interaction with the employers, nor it was among the colleague employees. So, the posts made by these employees, will not be considered as protected concerted activities. As a result, these employees will not win the case.
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