News & Analysis as of September 25, 2024

Free Speech

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The phrase "Protected Concerted Activity" refers to certain protected activities specified in the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. Under the NLRA, covered employees may join together to improve their wages and working conditions. If employees are engaged in "protected concerted activity" and suffer adverse employment consequences, such employees may seek redress under the NLRA, whether or not they are members of a union. less -

Political Speech in the Workplace: Strategic Considerations for Employers

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 9/13/2024

Political speech in the workplace has become a growing concern for employers in recent years. The polarized political climate, combined with the increasing use of social media and digital communication, has amplified the...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

Employee Activism, Safety, and Support Amid Difficult Issues

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 6/30/2022

Recent social and political controversies, such as rulings from the Supreme Court of the United States, international conflicts, and mass shootings, are likely to cause more employees to voice their opinions and frustrations...more

Political and Controversial Activity in the Workplace [More with McGlinchey Ep. 11]

McGlinchey Stafford on 10/16/2020

Election season is in full swing and the climate is certainly charged. In this episode of “More with McGlinchey,” Labor and Employment attorneys Mag Bickford, Rasch Brown, Camille Bryant, and Kathy Conklin discuss employees’...more

Free Speech or Belligerence? NLRB Reassessing the Threshold for When Otherwise Protected Activity Crosses the Line

Nilan Johnson Lewis PA on 11/4/2019

For employees boisterously raising employment-related concerns on behalf of a larger group, when might their words or actions be so hostile or offensive that they lose the protections of federal labor law? The National Labor...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

Unfettered Free Speech or Profane Outbursts? NLRB Invites Input to Determine Scope of Section 7 Protection

Franczek P.C. on 10/14/2019

The National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) is inviting input “to aid the Board in reconsidering the standards for determining whether profane outbursts and offensive statements of a racial or sexual nature, made in the...more

Watch Your Mouth: The NLRB Invites Input on when Profane, Racial, or Sexual Language Crosses the Line

Littler on 9/10/2019

On September 5, 2019, over the dissent of one member, a majority of the National Labor Relations Board invited briefing to aid the Board in reconsidering the standards for determining whether “profane outbursts and offensive...more

Federal Court Rejects Free Speech Challenge to New York City's Payroll Deduction Law

FordHarrison on 2/14/2019

On February 6, 2018, a New York federal judge rejected a challenge to a New York City law requiring fast-food businesses to, upon request of their employees, forward voluntary deductions from employee paychecks to nonprofits....more

Employers Beware: Can You Legally Terminate an Employee for a Controversial Facebook Post?

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP on 1/25/2019

In this era of social media, it has become quite common for employees to post information online about their personal lives, their political views, and information related to their jobs. Social networks have increasingly...more

Can You Be Fired for Flipping off the President? Yes...Well...Maybe Not

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 11/10/2017

There is a widespread myth in this country that the First Amendment protects free speech in the workplace. Employees who loudly state controversial opinions often think the First Amendment protects them from being fired as a...more

Racism in Your Spare Time: What Are The Legal Limits for Employers?

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 9/13/2017

On Saturday, August 12, as the nation watched, protests in Charlottesville, Virginia regarding the anticipated removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee turned deadly. In the days and weeks after, both the...more

Google and Charlottesville Events Raise Questions for Companies Regarding Employee Political Views

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 8/23/2017

Two recent major news stories again involve the intersection of politics with employment law. In the first matter, Google fired a programmer after he posted an internal document criticizing the company’s diversity...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

Dear Littler: Can A Boss Fire Someone for Off-Duty Political Activities?

Littler on 1/20/2017

Dear Littler: I saw one of my employees on the local news the other night participating in a political rally over the weekend. We try to maintain a tension-free workplace. Can I discipline him for this conduct? Can I at least...more

Politics in the Workplace: What Must Employers Allow?

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/20/2016

Everyone has experienced both "workplace politics," in which Type A employees claw their way to the top at the expense of co-workers, and "politics in the workplace," in which employees discuss candidates for office and...more

National Labor Relations Board Continues to Limit Handbook Rules

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and... on 11/25/2015

The National Labor Relations Board has been increasingly active in reviewing rules for employee conduct described in personnel policy manuals and handbooks. The NLRB focuses on Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act,...more

Dislike Employees’ Facebook “Likes”? Fire Away at Your Own Risk

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 10/29/2015

On October 21, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the National Labor Relations Board (“Board”) decision in Triple Play Sports Bar and Grill, 361 NLRB No. 31 (2014). The employer, Triple Play, had...more

What’s Your Workplace Retaliation IQ?

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 3/16/2015

It’s been a while since we’ve had an employment law quiz, so let’s do it! This one is on retaliation. As always, the answers will be provided after each question — you have our “no-pressure” guarantee....more

What’s in a Like?

Morrison & Foerster LLP - Social Media on 11/5/2014

In the pre-Facebook era, the word “like” was primarily a verb (and an interjection sprinkled throughout valley girls’ conversations). Although you could have likes and dislikes in the sense of preferences, you could not give...more

Court of Appeals Rules Employee Efforts To Take Over Editorial Control At Newspaper Unprotected By NLRA

Proskauer - Labor Relations on 12/20/2012

An issue we have discussed previously is whether all employee action that is “concerted” is also protected by the NLRA. We have seen that maliciously false statements made to third parties are unprotected. But what about when...more

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Protected Concerted Activity › The National Labor Relations Act › Free Speech

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