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Just What Constitutes Protected Concerted Activity in Social Media Use by Personnel?

Asbjorn Osland, Nanette Clinch
January 1, 2015
SKU:
BUS-004220
Region: 
North America
Topic: 
Strategy & General Management
Length: 
4 pages
Keywords: 
protected concerted activity, social media, labor relations, unonized, federal statute
Copyrighted by: 
Journal of Critical Incidents
Student Price: 
$4.00 (€3.75)
Average rating: 
0

An employee goes home at night, frustrated by what he or she perceives to be an unjust workplace and unfair manager, but can this employee go to social media to complain? Employers sometimes mistakenly accuse personnel of making inappropriate or harmful comments about the employer on social media. However, the federal National Labor Relations Act protects employees in the private sector who want to raise legally significant issues about their workplace, unionized or not. Those issues might constitute protected concerted activity under the federal statute.

Learning Outcomes: 
  1. Appraise the NLRB adaptation of the Wagner Act of 1935 to apply to protected concerted activity on social media.
  2. Interpret what constitutes protected concerted activity.
  3. Judge legitimate uses of social media by employees with uses that an employer can legally prohibit.