Facebook Part 2: Worker Ranting or Protected Speech?
Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) provides both unionized and non-unionized employees the right to engage in protected, “concerted activities”. “Concerted activities” include efforts by employees to address or improve the terms and conditions of their employment, such as pay, hours, safety, working conditions, etc. Such activities generally involve two or more […]
Facebook Part 1: Thanks for applying, your Facebook password please?
The Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook recently took the unusual step of not only advising Facebook members that passwords should not be shared with others, but he also admonished employers who request passwords from job applicants and employees. He warned employers that such actions could lead to discrimination claims. This posting was in response to complaints from […]
“They Didn’t Coerce Nobody”, says the Texas Supreme Court
After I posted my last article on arbitration agreements and the “waiver by default” of jury trial rights, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion on March 9, 2012, again reaffirming how easily employers can force workers into giving up their legal rights. In the case of In Re Frank Ken Motor Company, the Plaintiff, […]
A West Virginia Nursing Home and Your Rights at Work
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in which it held that a West Virginia nursing home could require three separate wrongful death lawsuits be arbitrated, rather than submitted to jury trials. In all three cases, family members signed nursing home admission agreements for the elderly residents, which included provisions that all disputes […]