WASHINGTON – A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted
disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a
first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her comments
are protected speech under labor laws.
The National Labor Relations Board alleges that
American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. illegally fired Dawnmarie
Souza from her job as an emergency medical technician late last year
after she criticized her supervisor on her personal Facebook page and
then traded Facebook messages about the negative comments with other
employees.
The complaint, filed Oct. 27 by the board's Hartford,
Conn., regional office, could set a precedent for employers to heed as
more workers use social networking sites to share details about their
jobs.
"It's the same as talking at the water cooler," said
Lafe Solomon, the board's acting general counsel. "The point is that
employees have protection under the law to talk to each other about
conditions at work."
Federal labor law
has long protected employees against reprisal for talking to co-workers
on their own time about their jobs and working conditions, including
remarks that may be critical of managers. The law applies whether or not
workers are covered by a union.
NLRB officials claim the Connecticut ambulance
company has an unlawful policy that prohibits employees from making
disparaging remarks about supervisors and depicting the company "in any
way" over the Internet without permission.
"This is the first complaint we've issued over
comments on Facebook, but I have no doubt that we'll be seeing more,"
Solomon said. "We have to develop policies as we go in this
fast-changing environment."
The trouble for Souza started when her supervisor
asked her to prepare an investigative report when a customer complained
about her work, according to the complaint. Souza claimed she was denied
representation by her union, the Teamsters Local 443.
Later that day, Souza logged onto her Facebook page
from a home computer and wrote: "Looks like I'm getting some time off.
Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor."
A 17 is the code the company uses for a psychiatric
patient. Souza also referred to her supervisor with two expletives. Her
remarks drew supportive Facebook postings from other colleagues.
John Barr, an attorney representing the company, said
the real reason Souza was fired was because of two separate complaints
about her "rude and discourteous service" within a 10-day period. He
said Souza would have been fired whether the Facebook comments were made
or not.
Barr said the company understands that workers have
right to talk about wages and working conditions. But he said it stands
by its policy against employees discussing the company on the Internet,
including social media sites.
"If you're going to make disgusting, slanderous
statements about co-workers, that is something that our policy does not
allow," Barr said.
Jonathan Kreisberg, director of the board's regional
office in Hartford, said the company's policy is overly broad. He
acknowledged that the law protecting worker speech has some limits, such
as not allowing employees to disrupt the workplace or engage in
threatening conduct. But Kreisberg argued that Souza's Facebook comments
did not cross a legal line.
"Here she was on her own time, on her own computer
and on her own Facebook page making these comments," Kreisberg said. "If
employees are upset about their supervisor and get together on their
own time talk about him, criticize and call him names, they can do
that."
A hearing on the case before an administrative law judge is set for Jan. 25.