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She praised my criticisms of theocracy and emphasized that, politically, she and I were on the same side with respect to matters of reason and social justice. She was kind enough to be conciliatory, though she noted that I was unhappy with some of her coverage. I’ll just characterize what she said in a few words. I’ll give some of those links below.Īt any rate, since I told Laura in my response that I’d keep her initial email confidential. Michael documented the decline and fall of the journal in two Substack pieces, “ Scientific American goes woke” and “ What is woke, anyway? A coda to my column on ‘Scientific American goes woke’.” His columns, particularly the first, cite and link to a number of ludicrous pieces published in the journal. After he turned out a couple of columns that weren’t woke enough for the journal, and were rejected, he was given his walking papers. My critiques of the magazine have been similar to those of Michael Shermer, who wrote a regular column for Scientific American for eighteen years. As you know if you’re a regular here, I’ve spent a lot of time criticizing their woke coverage and editorials, which make all kinds of accusations that don’t hold water (see emails below for some examples, or you can access all my posts here). An employee who is successful in making his or her case for unfair labor practices can resume his or her job at the company and can also receive back pay from his or her employer.On August 14, I received a conciliatory email from Laura Helmuth, editor of Scientific American. Additionally, an employee could bring a claim for retaliation against his or her employer if the employee was subsequently fired in response to what he or she posted. The NLRB based its conclusion in that case on Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects an employee’s right to engage in what the Act calls “concerted activity.” An employer who fired an employee for attempting to bring about concerted action through the use of Facebook could be sued by the employee for unfair labor practices.
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The NLRB reached that decision in the 2012 case of Design Technology Group, LLC et al. In particular, Facebook posts that attempt to raise awareness about certain conditions that exist at one’s job can be protected. The content of the offending Facebook post may provide some protection for the fired employee.
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That statute is enforced by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), an independent federal agency that prevents unfair labor practices by employers, regardless of whether an employee is unionized or not. One avenue that an employee who was fired for a Facebook post can pursue is a cause of action based upon the terms of the National Labor Relations Act. A bill to that effect, entitled the “ Job Education Privacy Act” was introduced in the North Carolina legislature in 2013, but it did not receive enough support to progress through the ratification process. North Carolina, however, has not joined their number. This practice has begun to be outlawed by many jurisdictions whose state legislatures have enacted legislation that prohibits employers from being able to condition employment upon an employee disclosing his or her Facebook information. It is arguably inconsistent for an employee to openly state something on Facebook and then attempt to tell an employer that that post was meant to be kept from view.Īlthough a Facebook page is private to the owner, many employers require access to potential employee’s Facebook page prior to that person beginning to work at the company.
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An employee fired for a Facebook post would also have a difficult time bringing a cause of action against his or her employer for invasion of privacy.
Walking papers alone in a place like this free#
Constitution, the First Amendment will not come to the aid of a private-sector employee because free speech protections only apply when the employer is the government. Although free speech is protected under the U.S. With the rise of social media, some employees have found themselves out of a job after sharing an ill-advised Facebook post. Impermissible reasons for termination from a job include race, gender, age, or religion. This means that employees can be fired for any reason whatsoever, as long as the reason for their termination is not an illegal one. One difficulty that is faced by many employees hoping to bring a lawsuit for wrongful termination is that employees in most states work at will. You can read Part One here.Įmployees who feels that they were wrongfully discharged from a job can sometimes seek legal recourse against their former employer.
Walking papers alone in a place like this series#
This article is the second in a three-part series on freedom of speech on social media.