By Hanok George, Albany Government Law Review
Introduction
Social media has become a topic of increasing interest among employers, as the employees’ statements within such media can have wide ranging impacts upon the employer.[1] These statements can reach millions of people— including customers, venders, suppliers and many others.[2] Due to the broad sweeping impacts associated with social media, employers have created social media policies for employees that restrict the employees’ ability to divulge work-related information on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.[3] However, these policies walk a fine line between protecting the employer’s interests and infringing on the employees’ rights to concerted activity under Section seven of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).[4] The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found many employers’ social media policies to constitute unfair labor practices.[5] Continue reading