By: Megan J. Muoio, November 25, 2015 On October 21, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finding that two employees were improperly fired because of negative discussion of their employer on the social media site Facebook. The employees were non-union employees at the Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille located in Watertown, Connecticut. In the case before the NLRB, Three D, LLC (Triple Play) was found to have illegally fired two employees in connection with Facebook complaints…

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Diana Uhimov, April 20, 2015. After an initial denial, a New York federal judge for the Southern District of New York granted permission last week to a group of former Gawker Media LLC interns’ to notify potential class members of a proposed action through social media, namely Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  The judge limited the approval by finding that “friending” class members on Facebook is too extreme.  The interns brought the proposed collective action, Mark et al. v. Gawker Media LLC et al., in 2013 under the Fair…

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By: Megan J. Muoio, December 31, 2014 There have been a number of notable employment law developments in 2014, and employment issues for employers will continue to be dynamic into 2015. The Equal Opportunity Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has initiated significant litigation and issued substantial regulations, while the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has pushed the envelope regarding employees’ rights issues. The Supreme Court has also been especially active in the employment law area, handing down decisions relevant to the religious rights of employers and considering issues regarding…

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By: Megan J. Muoio, December 4, 2014 On December 1, 2014, the Supreme Court heard oral argument Elonis v. United States, a case involving whether a man who made threats on Facebook should be prosecuted for making allegedly “true threats” or whether his words should be protected under the First Amendment. In 2010, Anthony Elonis made several Facebook posts in which he expressed violent sentiments against his wife, who had recently left him. Elonis also reinterpreted rap lyrics to incorporate threats against his wife and posted them to…

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Paula Lopez, August 27, 2014. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling in the case Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille affirming the administrative law judge’s decision that two employees who were terminated because of their involvement in Facebook discussions about claims that their employer had made State tax withholding errors were unlawfully discharged in violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision is significant on two fronts. First, because Vincent Spinella’s (one of the terminated employees) only involvement in the…

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Paula Lopez, April 2, 2014. Employers are not blind to employees’ use of social media in and out of the workplace and they have a business interest in protecting confidential information, brand/image, employee morale and productivity, and insulating themselves from legal liability. As a result, employers should establish a social media policy regarding their employees’ use of employer-issued devices and their social media activities. Creating a comprehensive social media policy is important. Such a policy should specifically identify permitted and prohibited conduct, without being overly restrictive, and should…

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