Skip to Main Content
  • Professionals
  • Practices
  • Industries
  • Experience
  • News & Events





Quick Results
View More Results
Search
Publications

NLRB Issues Social Media Guidance

February 15, 2012
Share
LinkedIn Facebook

The NLRB's Acting General Counsel recently released a second round of guidance regarding employers' social media policies and their application. The report contained the following five take away's:

  1. The prohibitions in an employer's policy cannot be so broad that they encompass conduct that is protected by the National Labor Relations Act.  For example, according to the guidance, prohibitions of the following types of employee communications in a social media policy are considered overbroad and illegal: disparaging the company, disrespectful conduct, inappropriate conversations, unprofessional communication, defamatory communications, inflammatory communications, harassing comments (without reference to protected classification).
  2. An employer is permitted to prohibit employees' online posts that violate the company's policies against harassment based on protected classes.  Similarly, an employer may require employees to comply with SEC and FTC regulations in their online posts.  In sum, an employer may require employees to comply with the law and to refrain from conduct that could make the employer liable for the employee's comments.
  3. Employees are not engaged in protected conduct online when they are expressing a purely personal gripe that: (1) is not made on behalf of other employees; (2) is not intended  to induce group complaints by other employees; and (3) does not arise out of protected offline conduct.
  4. A "savings clause" or disclaimer will not cure an otherwise overbroad policy.  So, for example, a provision that says that the policy will not apply to any activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act will not save the policy, if the policy is otherwise overbroad.
  5. Profanity in online posts, even where directed toward the employer, does not render an employee's comments automatically unprotected.
Subscribe to
Publications

Related Practice

Search By Last Name

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
The Howard Baker Forum The Daschle Group
Instagram LinkedIn
Baker Donelson is a national law firm with more than 650 attorneys and public policy advisors representing more than 30 practice areas to serve a wide range of legal needs. Clients receive knowledgeable guidance from experienced, multi-disciplined industry and client service teams, all seamlessly connected across 23 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
©2024 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Email Disclaimer

NOTICE: The mailing of this email is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Anything that you send to anyone at our Firm will not be confidential or privileged unless we have agreed to represent you. If you send this email, you confirm that you have read and understand this notice.
Cancel Accept