"On May 18, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it was suing Hispanics United of Buffalo, a nonprofit that provides social services to low-income clients, for firing five employees after they criticized working conditions, including workload and staffing issues on their Facebook.

The case involved an employee who posted to her Facebook page in advance of a meeting with management about working conditions a co-worker’s allegation that employees did not do enough to help the organization’s clients. The post generated responses from other employees who defended their job performance and criticized working conditions, including workload and staffing issues. Hispanics United discharged the five employees who participated, claiming that their comments constituted harassment of the co-worker.

According to the complaint, the Facebook discussion was protected concerted activity within the meaning of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) because it involved a conversation among co-workers about their terms and conditions of employment, including their job performance and staffing levels. A hearing of the complaint is scheduled for June 22, 2011, in Buffalo."

What is Protected Concerted Activity?

Protected Concerted Activity is a legal term used in labor policy to define employee protection against employer retaliation. It is a legal principle under the subject of the freedom of association. It defines the activities workers may partake in without fear of employer retaliation. In countries where there is relatively robust employee dismissal protection, the protection of protected concerted activity is less of a distinct legal issue. In liberal market societies like the United States, where it is easy for an employer to fire an employee, the issue of protected concerted activity has become an important employment protection.

The National Labor Relations Act, the main labor policy governing labor relations in the United States, defines concerted activity in Section 7.

Section 7 - Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection...^[1]

For more on this story visit the SHRM website HERE.

1. ^ Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 157