Latest News - November 2010

November 14, 2010
Labour board disputes employee's firing for Facebook criticism of its employer
Source: The Province
By: Bloomberg

The U.S. National Labor Relations Board is challenging a Connecticut company's dismissal of an employee for criticizing her employer on Facebook in a case that may expand a worker's rights to use social-network sites.

The agency's regional office in Hartford, Conn., said the Facebook comments were protected by workplace labour laws and the company, American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc., had an overly broad policy restricting blogging and Internet activity.

"Such provisions constitute interference with employees in the exercise of their right to engage in protected concerted activity," the board said.

The complaint by the regional office said American Medical Response in November 2009 denied employee Dawnmarie Souza the right to seek help from her union before she responded to a supervisor's questions over a customer's complaint. Souza posted remarks about the supervisor on her Facebook page from a home computer, the board said in the complaint filed Oct. 27.

The company suspended and then fired her because the postings violated the company's Internet policy.

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