We've seen several incidents featuring employees who were fired for statements that were issued via social media, usually either Facebook or Twitter.

While companies may have iron-clad policies that prohibit disparaging such statements, cfo.com notes that some companies may find themselves on shaky legal ground for such actions. Companies should be wise about all this and not open themselves up to post-firing legal action.

A report by the National Labor Relations Board has described cases in which the board ruled that companies illegally interfered with the right of employees to engage in certain activities, in a union environment and a non-union environment. Employees are allowed by law to engage in protected "concerted" activity for their "mutual aid or protection."

That has been interpreted as giving them the right to engage in discussion about work issues and how change might be effected. Social media communications can fall under the protected category as long as the employee was acting "with or on the authority of other employees, and not solely by and on behalf of the employee himself." 

In one case, an employee commenting on a sales event, noting the quality of food among other things, was found to have engaged in protected speech. The event had been a topic at work.  Cfo.com suggests asking two questions: Does the discussion relate to a legitimate work issue? And does the post aim to address group, not individual, needs?

For more:
- here's the article

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