Ruling Sides With Employers On Social Media Firing Protocol, But Issue Far From Over

Pavneet Singh Uppal, managing partner of the Phoenix office, was quoted in the October 16 Phoenix Business Journal article "Ruling Sides With Employers On Social Media Firing Protocol, But Issue Far From Over." Pavneet commented on a recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that condoned the firing of a BMW salesman over his Facebook comments about an accident that occurred at another dealership also owned by the company. The board did not address whether some additional social media postings about his workplace were protected. Pavneet said: "They did not specify how far the board is going to go in finding that an employee's conduct that is critical of his employer is protected. Because the board decided not to consider the second set of postings, which specifically focused on the workplace, we don't know what the NLRB would have said about the posts that were critical of the employer's business decisions." He noted that the decision "opened the door to further ambiguity and future grey area."