NLRA, First Amendment, Social Media

Political Discourse in the Workplace: Considerations for Employers

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 8/14/2024

With a presidential election just around the corner, employers can expect to see an uptick in political discussions in the workplace, if they haven’t already. The days when coworkers typically refrained from discussing...more

10 social media tips for employers and employees

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 6/28/2024

Want to stay out of trouble? Read on! Did you know that this Sunday will be "Social Media Day"? Neither did I. But even after all this time, social media continues to get employees and employers in trouble. Here are six...more

EntertainHR: Can Employers Do That? The Limits of Free Speech

FordHarrison on 1/17/2024

Public debate about the Israel-Hamas war demonstrates that Americans have strong, and often divergent, views on important social and political issues. Believing that their right to express those views is firmly grounded in...more

Five Tips for Employers During Election Season

Harris Beach PLLC on 11/7/2022

No one would blame employers for shunning politics in today’s landscape. Vitriol and partisanship are now par for the course and could quickly lead to workplace tension or worse. But there are reasons – both legal and in...more

The Supreme Court - October 3, 2022

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 10/4/2022

Today, on the first day of the new term, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in nine cases: Gonzalez v. Google LLC, No. 21-1333: Section 203(c)(1) of the Communication Decency Act shields an...more

Private Employer May Terminate Employee for Racially Insensitive Social Media Post

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on 5/24/2022

Last week the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit by an employee who alleged she had been wrongfully terminated based on her controversial Facebook post. In so doing, the court held that the...more

When an Employee’s Social Media Post Goes Viral

White and Williams LLP on 12/3/2021

For better or for worse, social media has become an important and all-consuming part of everyone’s lives, including your employees. Information can be shared instantly, with the ability to reach a wide audience in a short...more

Absolute Freedom to Tweet? Employers (and the NLRA) May Have Something to Say About It

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 1/27/2021

Do you need a social media policy or are the legal obstacles just too much? Now more than ever, people are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, which, not surprisingly, can cause heartburn at the workplace....more

A Dealership’s Guide To Social Media, Free Speech, And The Election

Fisher Phillips on 11/2/2020

You just learned that one of your employees expressed their opinion about the election on social media. Their unfiltered post includes slurs, and it is inflammatory at best. Had they made these same comments while at work,...more

Politics in the workplace: A volatile combination!

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 10/30/2020

On the eve of Election Day, what can employers do to keep their workplaces from exploding? What workplace speech is protected by the First Amendment or the National Labor Relations Act? When do political social media posts...more

Employer “Dislike” Button—Disciplining Employees For Noxious Social Media Posts

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 9/28/2020

Seyfarth Synopsis: With the most contentious election of our lifetimes fast approaching, we might expect employees to engage in political conduct and share strong, controversial opinions while off duty, especially on social...more

Best Practices For Addressing Negative Social Media Posts Caused By The COVID-19 Pandemic

Fisher Phillips on 8/6/2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the healthcare industry is understandably fraught with unease and uncertainty. This, coupled with the ubiquity of social media, creates challenges for healthcare providers facing public...more

Social Media PSA For Employees And Employers

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 6/26/2020

Only YOU can prevent a social media firestorm. My Facebook page is a snooze. Two members of my immediate family do not want their existence to be acknowledged on the internet. I almost never post anything, except to wish...more

Employment Law Now IV-65- The Great Debate Part 2: Employee Lawyer vs. Employer Lawyer

Cozen O'Connor on 4/17/2020

This is Part 2 of Mike Schmidt's 2-part episode pitting employee/plaintiff-side lawyer Hope Pordy, Esq. against employer/defendant-side lawyer Jeremy Glenn, Esq. to finish debating some interesting HR topics....more

How the Misconception of ‘Free Speech’ in the Workplace Persists through High-Profile Examples of Social Consciousness

FordHarrison on 10/30/2019

With the NBA season set to begin this month, so many eagerly anticipated storylines are being discussed. Would the Clippers and Lakers live up to expectations and make Los Angeles the place to be this season? How are teams...more

[Podcast]: Can-My-Employees Participate in Political Activities?

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace on 2/26/2019

In this episode of the “Can My Employees Do That?” series, partner Elise Bloom and associate Michelle Gyves discuss whether employers can lawfully limit an employee’s participation in political activities, protests, and...more

There’s no debate: freedom of speech presents challenging legal issues for workers and employers in the age of social media

Womble Bond Dickinson on 11/3/2017

John Pueschel, partner in the Winston-Salem office of Womble Bond Dickinson, examines the limits on employee free speech and use of social media against the background of recent events at Google and in Charlottesville....more

Q And A On The Recent Controversy

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 8/11/2017

On the recent uproar involving a major, major employer and its recently-terminated employee: No. 1. Is it a good idea to provide an “open forum” to employees if there are certain topics that are off limits? No. If you want...more

Digital Disruptions: Handling Social Media Misuse By Students And Educators

Fisher Phillips on 7/15/2017

Beginning with the launch of Myspace and Facebook in the early part of the last decade, social media communication has taken the world by storm. Today, social media networking is the primary means of communicating about one’s...more

Social Links: Court disallows firing over Facebook page rant; Ether threatens Bitcoin’s reign as top digital currency; NBA slam...

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Social Media on 6/12/2017

One year since agreeing with the European Commission to remove hate speech within 24 hours of receiving a complaint about it, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube are removing flagged content an average of 59% of the...more

A Contentious Presidential Election, #BlackLivesMatter and Bathroom Laws: Addressing Polarizing Current Events in the Workplace

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC on 10/19/2016

It is practically impossible these days to turn on the news, get on the internet or listen to the radio without hearing about some polarizing event. Whether it is a debate over the presidential candidates, the...more

The National Labor Relations Act › First Amendment › Social Media