At last! A bit of guidance is surfacing about social networks and the employer-employee relationship.
Coming to you via a recent decision by way of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), “employees have the right to freely comment on workplace issues over social networks.”
In their ruling, the NLRB, found that the “employee’s Facebook postings constituted protected concerted activity, and that the company’s blogging and Internet posting policy contained unlawful provisions, including one that prohibited employees from making disparaging remarks when discussing the company or supervisors and another that prohibited employees from depicting the company in any way over the Internet without company permission. Such provisions constitute interference with employees in the exercise of their right to engage in protected concerted activity.”
You be the judge… what do you think? Read more about this topic from John McKendrick in yesterday’s FastForward Blog …
I assume that this ruling applies to comments made by employees from their home computer rather than from their work computer. May employers restrict the use or access to social networks during duty hours?
Employer IT policies are typically used to govern the use of computers at work. Since social networking involves using information technology, it’s more likely that rulings will come from employer IT policies about the use of social media.
Yes, I understand the ruling by NLRB, however practicing “political savvy” lets you know it could looked upon as lack of loyalty, trust and lack of tact and diplomacy. Just a thought from Ms. Etiquette.