Labor & Employment Developments Blog

A recent decision from a United States District Court in Maryland may be of interest to employers involved in litigation with the EEOC, or those that may someday be involved in litigation with the EEOC. 

This week, the National Labor Relations Board told Thomson Reuters that it will file a civil complaint accusing the company of illegally reprimanding a reporter over a public Twitter posting criticizing management.  The reporter posted the following to a Reuters Twitter address: “One way to make this the best place to work is to deal honestly with Guild members.”  She was subsequently advised by Reuters’ management that she should not have published a post that could damage the company’s reputation.  Although she has indicated that she felt intimidated, it is not clear whether she was actually disciplined for the post.  The NLRB has taken the position that Reuters violated the reporter’s federally protected right to engage in concerted, protected activity with co-workers to improve working conditions.  Although this is the first incident involving Twitter, it is not the NLRB’s first foray into the realm of social media.  In October 2010, the NLRB filed a complaint against an ambulance company in Connecticut on behalf of an employee who had been terminated because she had posted negative comments about her supervisor on her personal Facebook page in violation of the company’s blogging and internet posting policy.  That case was settled in February 2011.