In a connected age of Facebook status posts and tweeting, company policies are facing unknown grey areas of legality over what employees can say about work online. There is some debate over what employees are allowed to say, whether it constitutes a genuine expression of concern over working conditions, or if it is a breach of etiquette. According to Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, part of the problem is that existing company policies regarding social media are too broad; many state that employees can’t disparage or criticize the company in any way on social media, which is not true under the law.
Employees are legally protected when expressing concern about the terms and conditions of a job, but uncertainty arises when that becomes griping or devolves into personal attacks. Many companies have asked the NLRB to review or help them establish social media policies that are within the bounds of the law.
