The Quick and Dirty

By Legal Lad

When is it OK to post social media updates at work? (via Asthma Helper/Flickr)

When in a workplace environment, “at-will” employees can be terminated for any reasons, the least of which might be a misdirected Facebook posting, or a Twitter joke gone awry. However, various laws may also offer protection for posting certain kinds of content online. These include:

• Political opinions. Some states have laws prohibiting employers from disciplining or firing employees for political activities; thus, you may be protected from online comments in support of a particular candidate or party.
• Information about illegal activities. Federal and state law contains protections for “whistleblowers,” that is, employees who expose harmful or illegal activities of their employers. Some whistleblower laws may require that you report the problem to the government first–say, to a regulatory or law enforcement agency. But once that is done, you may be able to post about your discovery without fear of retaliation.
• “Concerted” speech. Federal and state labor laws generally protect employees’ rights to communicate with each other about conditions in the workplace–and to communicate about efforts to unionize the workplace. Last year, the National Labor Relations Board brought a complaint against a company for firing an employee due to Facebook posts about her treatment by her supervisor.

As in many areas of life, a little common sense goes a long way. It may be better to talk to your manager or your HR department about problems at the office rather than broadcasting them on the Internet. You should avoid posting anything that’s offensive, or hurtful, or just plain bad taste. Always check with Modern Manners Guy before clicking “status update.”