Workforce Bulletin

by Anna A. Cohen

On September 28, 2011, a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) administrative law judge (ALJ) found that Knauz BMW lawfully terminated the employment of Robert Becker, a salesperson, after he posted pictures and comments on his Facebook page about two different workplace incidents -- an automobile accident and a dealership sales event.  The judge also found that several Employee Handbook policies, unrelated to social media postings, contained overly broad language.  Karl Knauz Motors, Inc. d/b/a Knauz BMW and Robert Becker, Case No. 13-CA-46452 (Sept. 28 ...

by Steven M. Swirsky and Michael F. McGahan

On Thursday, August 18, 2011, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB" or "Board") issued a report on the outcome of 14 cases involving employees' use of social media or social media policies in general. This report follows a more expansive "Survey of Social Media Issues Before the NLRB" issued by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on August 5, 2011, which addresses 129 cases involving social media reviewed by the NLRB at some level. Further, after these reports were published, an NLRB administrative law judge ("ALJ ...