When Dawnmarie Souza ranted about work and used vulgar language towards her supervisor on Facebook, she never thought it would cost her the job. Souza has recently been fired for “multiple, serious complaints about her behavior.” While it’s never acceptable and professional to bash superiors at work, using company technology and equipment, the Connecticut-based woman apparently posted disparaging remarks on the social networking site Facebook on her own time and computer.
Independent federal agency National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) stepped in and filed a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut where Souza worked as an emergency medical technician until late last year. The NLRB ruled that Facebook posts are legally protected speech, citing that “employees have protection under the law” to discuss conditions at work, according to Lafe Solomon, the board’s acting general counsel.
Despite being the first complaint to be issued by the NLRB, the board no doubt sees more in the future as social media and social networking sites become prevalent in the work environment. More employers are expected to use social media and social networking sites to share details about jobs and office situations. Policies have to be developed to be able to catch up with the fast-changing environment.
Facebook posts may be legally protected, but there are also exceptions to the law. Not all activities done on the social networking site are protected. It would be wise to avoid posting derogatory remarks about your boss or workplace – or maybe it would be better to skip the online and public venting altogether. NLRB advised that protected status of Facebook posts may disappear on the whole depending on where the comments take place, the subject matter, the nature of the outburst, and most especially if the comments were provoked by an employer’s unfair labor practice.
Shanti Atkins, a specialist in ethics and compliance training, understands how social media is a powerful tool in creating brand exposure and company visibility. She, however, acknowledges the fact that social media can also be a breeding ground for unprofessional employee behavior, such as harassing coworkers and tarnishing colleagues’ reputation. Atkins advises that negative impact resulting from employee speech or behavior should have employers take action – as part of their duty to maintain a safe, harassment, and discrimination free workplace.
Social media, Atkins states, is prevalent in the workplace but despite this, companies still have to play catch-up with technology. Fewer than 10% of companies actually have active social media policies in place which encourages employees to create attitudes that can be damaging in the long run. Training employees on social media rules and guidelines in the workplace is the best way to prevent unethical social media habits at work.