Social Media, Facebook, Employer Liability Issues

Bitter Medicine: Third Circuit Holds Officers Disciplined for Offensive Social Media Posts Stated a First Amendment Claim

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 6/22/2023

Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 8, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Fenico v. City of Philadelphia that police officers disciplined for offensive Facebook posts stated a First Amendment claim...more

Facebook Said-Addressing Ongoing COVID-19 Issues

Dentons on 3/31/2021

We all know that neither Google nor Facebook has a legal degree, but that doesn’t stop your employees from acting as if they do. More than one employee pushes back on a policy saying, “I read on Facebook___” or “I Googled___...more

Facebook posts and firing of Oklahoma worker leads to wrongful discharge claim

McAfee & Taft on 8/25/2020

Under Oklahoma law, employees who are terminated from their jobs in violation of Oklahoma public policy may, in some cases, file a wrongful discharge lawsuit against their former employer. Increasingly these lawsuits involve...more

Off-Duty Facebook Post Grounds For Termination Of Public Employee, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules

Fisher Phillips on 5/29/2020

(Public) employers rejoice! In a unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court just ruled that PennDOT did not violate an ex-employee’s free speech rights by firing her over a Facebook rant in which the ex-employee said...more

#No Filter: Terminating an Employee for Social Media Posts – Part 2

Cozen O'Connor on 9/13/2019

Prior to the advent of social media and especially the #MeToo movement, employers were generally comfortable drawing a bright line between what employees did on their own time and workplace misconduct. ...more

Nashville Trump Supporter Fired Over Facebook Post Wins Trial

Butler Snow LLP on 8/27/2019

Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more

Third Circuit: Spying on Former Employee’s Social Media Account Does Not Constitute “Unclean Hands” to Bar Trade Secret...

Orrick - Trade Secrets Group on 3/25/2019

Consider this: a former employee has just left his or her employer and may have taken trade secrets to a competitor. ...more

Facebook Settles Claims Alleging Discriminatory Ad Targeting

Littler on 3/21/2019

On March 19, 2019, Facebook settled several lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Communications Workers of America, and various housing groups related to the placement of employment...more

A Company’s Facebook Snooping Didn’t Prevent Critical Trade Secrets Injunction

Fisher Phillips on 3/4/2019

Can a former employer’s alleged misconduct defeat a request for injunctive relief against former employees when those departing workers take confidential information and clients to another employer? A federal appeals court...more

Maryland State Government Employee’s Job Duties Reinstated after Demotion Following Facebook Post

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 1/4/2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employees’ use of their personal social media accounts in ways that could impact an employer’s business present challenges to employers....more

Facebooking Misappropriated Employer Form Is Not Protected Activity

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 7/18/2018

On June 11, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) Division of Advice applied the Board’s new Boeing standard for assessing employer policies. The Division advised that an employer did not violate the NLRA when it...more

Not Your Grandad’s Facebook? Targeted Social Media Ads Spur Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 1/19/2018

Can you target advertisements to a group based on age? The Communications Workers of America (CWA) and several individuals think not and filed suit against T-Mobile, Amazon, Cox Communications, and Cox Media Group. The...more

Modern Recruiting Hits a Snag

Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 12/22/2017

The former general counsel of the EEOC under President Obama leads a team that is giving many, many employers an early holiday nightmare. A union and a class of plaintiffs are seeking damages from a class of employers; if...more

Social Media in the Workplace: More Changes Ahead?

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 12/12/2017

In days past employees discussed and debated workplace issues around the water cooler. That sentimental past-time has long since been replaced by online social media networking and the reach of social media is stunning....more

Employee’s Facebook Post Crossed the Line

Saul Ewing LLP on 8/15/2017

Last week, the Third Circuit denied a Pennsylvania-plaintiff’s application to have her retaliation claim against her former employer reinstated. The plaintiff, Mindy Caplan, a former district manager for the retail chain...more

Social Media Lesson for Employers: Recent $1.5 Million Retaliatory Discharge Verdict

Burr & Forman on 5/16/2017

On May 11, 2017, a federal jury in Charlotte, North Carolina awarded a former fire department employee, Crystal Eschert, a $1.5 million verdict in a retaliatory discharge lawsuit that teaches powerful lessons in today’s...more

Employer Cannot Fire Employees For Obscenity-Laced Facebook Posts During Union Organizing Campaign

Tonkon Torp LLP on 5/16/2017

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects employees who engage in concerted activities for purposes of collective bargaining or for mutual aid and protection. How far that protection extends was tested in NLRB v....more

Oh F**k: Employee’s Profane Facebook Post is Protected Activity

Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation on 5/5/2017

On April 21, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruling that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) when it discharged a catering...more

Second Circuit Holds Termination of Employee Who Attacked Supervisor in Obscene Facebook Post Violates NLRA

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints on 4/26/2017

The Second Circuit said last week that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act when it fired an employee who criticized a supervisor on Facebook during an election. The catch here is that the Second Circuit...more

The Pros and Cons of Social Media in Job Screenings

Pullman & Comley, LLC on 3/29/2017

It is not surprising that a recent survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that a growing number of employers are using social media both to hire and to disqualify job candidates. Social media...more

Employment Law Navigator – Week in Review: January 2017 #3

Zelle LLP on 1/17/2017

Last week, there were developments in two cases in different Pennsylvania courts involving employer liability—or lack thereof—for data breaches involving employee personally identifiable information (PII). A Pennsylvania...more

Why after-hours social media posts can still spell on-the-job trouble

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC on 10/25/2016

Many people think that only teenagers and twentysomethings are using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Google Plus to interact with others. Not so....more

Where’s the “Dislike” Button? 2nd Circuit Affirms Employee-Friendly Social Media Ruling

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP on 11/6/2015

In my last post on HR legalist, I outlined the current state of the law regarding employee social media use. One trend I have been following is the National Labor Relations Board’s expansion of protections for employees who...more

Second Circuit Affirms NLRB View That Facebook "Likes" Are Protected Concerted Activity

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP on 11/2/2015

Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals backed the National Labor Relations Board’s position that employee social media postings are protected concerted activity under federal law, even if they use obscenities that...more

Facebook “Like” Protected Speech Under the NLRA

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on 10/29/2015

We all have them. Friends and family who overshare on Facebook. Their food choices (complete with pictures), exercise routine, and relationship drama, all solidified in the form of a status update. Annoying maybe, but mostly...more

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