On November 8, 2011, we reported that a National Labor Relations Board Administrative Law Judge issued an interesting decision involving an employee who was discharged for posts he made on his Facebook page. The ALJ found that the employee was not discharged in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, because even though some of the employee’s Facebook posts were protected, the employee’s termination was based on only non-protected posts. Recently, the Board upheld the ALJ’s decision, providing helpful guidance to employers on the limits of the NLRA’s protections.
On September 28, 2012, the Board affirmed the ALJ’s decision in Knauz Motors, Inc. (pdf) The key question was whether the employee was fired for engaging in "concerted protected activity" under the NLRA. At issue were two Facebook posts made by the employee. The first included "mocking and sarcastic" pictures and comments about a sales event. Apparently, the employee was dissatisfied with the food selection for the event, which included hot dogs and water. The ALJ found, and the Board agreed, that since the food choices could impact the employee’s commissions, which were a term and condition of his employment, the pictures and mocking comments were "concerted protected activity."
The ALJ and the Board took a different view of the second set of Facebook posts, which contained pictures and comments making fun of an accident at a related dealership. The accident involved a 13-year-old boy who was behind the wheel of a vehicle that crashed into a retaining pond. The employee posted pictures of the accident and made some inappropriate comments. The Board affirmed the ALJ’s conclusion that these posts did not constitute concerted protected activity because there no was connection to the employee’s terms and conditions of employment. Ultimately, the ALJ and the Board held that the employee’s discharge was not a violation of the NLRA because he was terminated for the non-protected posts, and not the posts regarding the sales event.
The Board also agreed with the ALJ that some of the employer’s policies were overly broad in violation of the NLRA, including the employer’s Courtesy Policy. The Courtesy Policy provided:
Courtesy is the responsibility of every employee. Everyone is expected to be courteous, polite and friendly to our customers, vendors and suppliers as well as to their fellow employees. No one should be disrespectful or use profanity or any other language which injures the image of the Dealership.
The Board held that the prohibition on "disrespectful" conduct and "language which injures the image or reputation of the Dealership" could be construed to prohibit protected activity, and therefore, was unlawful.
While there is some good news in the Knauz Motors decision, specifically that there are limits to the protection afforded to employees who take to Facebook to mock their employers, there continues to be frustration regarding the broad reading of the NLRA. As a result of the Knauz Motors decision, some employers may need to update their policies, again.