Obscenities alone—even when viewed by an employer’s customers—do not deprive employees engaged in protected concerted activity of the National Labor Relations Act’s (“NLRA” or the “Act”) protections. So held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit when recently affirming the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or “the Board”) decision in Three D, LLC (Triple Play), 361 NLRB No. 31 (2014). The court also affirmed the Board’s decision to require an employer to meet a high standard of proof to justify terminating employees who make critical, and even false, statements about the employer while engaging in Section 7 activity in social media. Consequently, Triple Play has broadened employees’ ability to use social media to complain about work with impunity.
Home > Federal Law Articles > Labor Law > Protected Concerted Activity > Second Circuit Upholds NLRB’s Triple Play Decision, Expanding Section 7 Protections for Employees’ Social Media Activity