Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

| by

 

Last week, a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled, for the first time, that an employer could legally fire an employee based on Facebook activity. In Karl Knauz Motors, Inc. d/b/a Knauz BMW and Robert Becker, the ALJ okayed a BMW dealership firing an employee who posted pictures (accompanied by some snarky comments) about a neighboring Land Rover dealership.

So what’s up with the title of this blog post? And why should employers be concerned with this decision? Find out after the jump…

* * *

Continue reading

| by

munroe.jpgEarlier this year, a local teacher was suspended after her school learned about nasty comments on her personal blog concerning her students. And that story became national news. More on the history here, here, and here.

Now, word has it that the school is considering a social-media policy. Well, it’s about time! What’s in the policy and does it go too far? Find out after the jump.

Continue reading

| by

 

Earlier this year, reports of a Connecticut ambulance company firing an employee who had complained about her supervisor on Facebook, grabbed the headlines. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) complained that the firing was illegal. And although the company contended that it did nothing wrong, free speech advocates spewed hellfire and brimstone. Ultimately, the bloodlust subsided when that case settled.

Several months later, the NLRB is at it again. However, this time, for the first time, an NLRB Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has found, after a full hearing, that an employer unlawfully fired employees for Facebook postings. Oh, by the way, the employer involved is non-union. More on this important decision and what it means for private employers after the jump.

* * *

Continue reading

| by

 

ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports, has updated its social-media policy for talent and reporters. You can find a copy of it here. The policy does have its strong points. But, there are certain areas in which it misses the mark. A discussion follows after the jump…

* * *

Continue reading

| by

nlrb.jpgOn Friday night, I read the just-released National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel report on social media investigations. In fact, I read it twice cover-to-cover. (No, I won’t be winning the “Coolest Person In America In Philly On My Block In My House” Award this year).

Dorkiness aside, I was able to distill the report down to the points that employers will need to know if they hope to avoid federal scrutiny. Those details follow after the jump…

* * *

Continue reading

| by

From TMZ.com:

gametweet.jpg

Rapper The Game could face criminal charges after he tweeted the phone number of the sheriff’s station in Compton, CA — but told people it was the number to call for an internship — causing the station’s phone lines to become overrun with calls and delaying emergency services.

…

Continue reading

| by

'Philadelphia City Hall' photo (c) 2008, Kent Wang - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/As I was getting my shoes shined yesterday, something caught my eye. 

According to this article in the Metro Newspaper from Alexandra Wigglesworth, Philadelphia’s First Judicial District plans to use Facebook, Twitter, and text messaging to send out reminders about court dates.

The court’s shift towards embracing social media is consistent with a recent survey which shows that over half of employers believe that using social media for business purposes is a good thing. 

Continue reading

| by

Remember Natalie Munroe? Let me see if I can refresh your recollection.

She’s a blogger. She’s a teacher. That’s right, smarties. She’s the blogging teacher who got suspended after her school learned that he had written on her personal blog that she wished she could leave the following comments for students so that parents could gain further insight into how their children were performing in school:

munroe.jpg

  • “Am concerned that your kid is going to come in one day and open fire on the school. (Wish I was kidding.)”
  • Rude, beligerent, argumentative fuck.”
  • Utterly loathsome in all imaginable ways.”
  • I called out sick a couple of days just to avoid your son.”
  • There’s no other way to say this: I hate your kid.”

You can read more about the history of Natalie Munroe here and here.

Continue reading
“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
Contact Information

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2024, Eric B. Meyer
| All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design