In case you missed it. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board stated that employers can NOT fire or discipline employees that post criticisms on social networking sites. Here is their press release. This is a first for the NLRB and actually a good thing for companies. It helps to clarify and give guidance for the future. And yet another reason that companies need to start embracing the new world of Social Media.
Too often, companies tend to shoot the messenger instead of looking at the problem. This will help to provide a little more balance and force the companies to think first a bit more often before reacting to an employee’s action.
This doesn’t let the employee off the hook either. People still need to remember, Social Media is public. What you post has the potential to be seen around the world in seconds or on your local TV station on the evening news. So be careful.
(First published 2/9/2011)