National Labor Relations Board: Facebook firings illegal

Listen to this article

By Correy Stephenson
Dolan Media

Employees who were fired over comments made on Facebook were illegally terminated, an Administrative Law Judge for the National Labor Relations Board has determined.

As part of its recent focus on social media, the NLRB filed a complaint against a New York-based non-profit, Hispanics of Buffalo, after five employees were fired over Facebook postings.

According to the complaint filed in May, an employee posted to her Facebook page allegations by a co-worker that employees did not do enough to help the organization’s low-income clients.

Other employees responded to the initial post by defending their job performance and complaining about issues like workload and staffing. According to the NLRB, Hispanics United then terminated the five employees who responded to the initial post, claiming that their comments constituted harassment of the first employee.

The decision, issued by Judge Arthur Amchan, was the first case involving Facebook to have resulted in an ALJ decision following a hearing, the NLRB said.

Judge Amchan found that the employees’ Facebook discussion was “protected concerted activity” because it involved a conversation among co-workers about their terms and conditions of employment and that the employees did not engage in any conduct that forfeited their protection under the National Labor Relations Act.

“It is irrelevant to this case that the discriminatees were not trying to change their working conditions and that they did not communicate their concerns to (their employer). … Employees have a protected right to discuss matters affecting their employment amongst themselves. Explicit or implicit criticism by a co-worker of the manner in which they are performing their jobs is a subject about which employee discussion is protected by Section 7 (of the Act),” Judge Amchan wrote.

Hispanics United must reinstate the five employees, who were also awarded backpay in the decision. In addition, Judge Amchan required the nonprofit to post a notice at its facility concerning employee rights under the Act and the violations found in the decision.”