Do you need a social media policy or are the legal obstacles just too much? Now more than ever, people are exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, which, not surprisingly, can cause heartburn at the workplace. In times of contention, stress, and uncertainty, speech often multiplies, and, in an era where someone’s speech
Does This Arbitration Agreement Make Me Look Sexist? The Moving Target of Using Arbitration Clauses
The Supreme Court Says Yes to Arbitration and Class Action Waivers
With its 5-4 ruling in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, the Supreme Court delivered a seemingly big win for employers. The Supreme Court held that employees’ waiver of their rights to bring collective or class actions, as a term of an arbitration agreement,
Happy Thanksgiving and the Many Things for Which We Are Thankful
Before everyone gets out of the office to their various homes and families to celebrate the holiday, we wanted to review the year and count our blessings. Not only are we thankful that our families and colleagues in our Houston and Tampa offices weathered the storms safely, we are also thankful for the following legal
Flipping Out Over Flipping Off: What Are the Limits on Regulating Employee Political Speech?
Around the end of October, a photo of a government contractor employee flipping the bird to President Trump’s motorcade went viral after the woman made it her profile picture on Facebook. She was subsequently fired for a violation of her company’s social media policy. The company said that the image was “lewd” and “obscene.” The
“Do You Kiss Your Mother With That Post?” Second Circuit Rules on Foul Facebook Post about Employer
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals stepped in to support the NLRB’s finding that an employee’s profanity-ridden social media posting about his employer (and his employer’s mother) was not so offensive that it went beyond the protections of the NLRA for union-related activity. This decision again shows the wide latitude given to employees to engage
Shock the Monkey: Police Officer Photo Post on Social Media Costs Him His Job
When is a “joke” so not funny that you lose your job? The Mississippi Court of Appeals gave some direction on that question, affirming the City of Meridian’s termination of a police officer for an inappropriate (arguably racist) Facebook posting. While on duty (but on a break), Officer Meador posted to his public Facebook page
Tennessee’s New Social Media Law Gives Employers Dos and Don’ts Regarding Employee Privacy
All Tennessee employers and their agents must now comply with the “Employee Online Privacy Act of 2014,” a new law that prohibits employers from asking their employees for their usernames and passwords to social media sites, among other things. The law went into effect on January 1, 2015. Although it prohibits employers from