As recent high-profile cyberattacks have demonstrated, employers have a duty to protect their employees’ electronically stored personal information from being accessed by hackers, and to promptly remedy any breach in security concerning such information. Depending upon the outcome of a recently filed charge before the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”), unionized employers … Continue Reading
On August 25, the National Labor Relations Board found in Three D, LLC, d/b/a Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille v. Sanzone, Case No. 34-CA-012915, and Three D, LLC, d/b/a Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille v. Spinella, Case No. 34-CA-012926, that an employer had violated federal labor law by terminating an employee who had … Continue Reading
Authorship credit: Jay Seegers Like many people, Robert Becker, a salesperson at Karl Knauz Motors’ BMW dealership in Chicago, had his own Facebook page. When the BMW dealership served hot dogs, chips, and bottled water at an event to introduce a new BMW vehicle, Mr. Becker posted sarcastic comments questioning whether the dealership’s choice of … Continue Reading
Since June 2011, the Acting General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board has issued three reports outlining the position of his office on the applicability of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to employee policies that set rules for permissible social media use. The positions taken by the GC were considered by some … Continue Reading
Authorship Credit: Tarsha Luke The recent termination of a top executive of a publicly traded company is another example of some of the perils of mixing personal and workplace social media. The chief financial officer for a women’s clothing retailer, Francesca’s Holdings, was dismissed for disseminating non-public corporate information to his Twitter followers. After a … Continue Reading
In its continuing effort to grapple with when and where employee speech is protected under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), on August 18, 2011, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel issued a report addressing when it is lawful and unlawful to discipline employees for social media activities and the proper scope of … Continue Reading
Since the advent of social networking websites like Facebook, employers have struggled to determine when it is appropriate to discipline an employee who engages in misconduct through social media. Fortunately, the NLRB offered significant guidance on this issue in three Advice Memorandums submitted in July 2011. These Memorandums seem to indicate an employer may discipline … Continue Reading