The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a series of rulings concerning employees who discuss workplace issues on social media sites. The NLRB has found that employees who discuss the terms and conditions of their employment with co-workers are engaged in "concerted activity" protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). These NLRB decisions and advice memos provide critical guidance for attorneys drafting workplace social media policies for employers.
NLRB Precedent
As a general matter, employees are entitled to, without employer interference, organize or engage in other concerted activities for mutual aid or protection. The two landmark cases are Meyers Industries, 268 N.L.R.B. 493 (1984) (Meyers I), and 281 N.L.R.B. 882 (1986) (Meyers II). Under Meyers I, the board defined "concerted activity" as that which is "engaged in with or on the authority of other employees, and not solely by and on behalf of the employee himself." In Meyers II, the board expanded the definition to include "circumstances where individual employees seek to initiate or induce or to prepare for group action, as well as individual employees bringing truly group complaints to the attention of management."
