Workforce Bulletin

Recent violence and political discord have led to a marked increase in social media activity. With that has come a new viral trend; let’s call it termination trolling. Influencers and activists have been amplifying social media posts calling for people to get fired based on their social commentary. One group claims to have located more than 50,000 posts that, in its view, should be grounds for employment termination.

A number of employers have publicly dismissed employees (either on their own or in response to public pressure) after becoming aware of their social media comments or posts. Given the volume of posts and efforts to get people fired based on their social media posts or other comments, employers should prepare to manage such demands.

On September 6, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 4982 and Assembly Bill 6604, which amends Section 201-D of the New York Labor Law to prohibit most employers from requiring non-managerial and non-supervisory employees to attend employer-sponsored meetings where the primary purpose is to communicate the employer’s opinions on religious or political matters. The amendment took immediate effect and makes New York the latest state to ban so-called “captive audience meetings,” following the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel’s ...