Developing solid employer social media policies

Social media has played an increasingly prominent role in our daily lives, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as we’ve been largely quarantined for months. This is no less true for your employees than for the larger public. Therefore, it’s important to develop a solid social media policy so they know your expectations and you can protect your business interests. Read on for more information about recent trends and recommendations.

Fired for calling out customer behavior on social media

In April 2020, when the U.S. economy was still largely shut down because of COVID-19, a Trader Joe’s employee used social media to criticize customer behavior. Among other things, the statements posted on his personal Facebook and Instagram pages complained about customers spending too much time “browsing around” and implored them to “come in with a sense of purpose, get what you need, and get yourselves home.”

The employee was terminated for violating the employer’s social media guidelines by not making clear he was speaking on his own behalf, not the employer’s. Also, he allegedly failed to comply with the company’s employee handbook expectation to “treat all customers with integrity.”

In a recent advice memo, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) addressed whether the termination violated federal labor law. Under the “Jefferson Standard” (derived from a 1953 U.S. Supreme Court case), communications aren't protected if they are so “disloyal, reckless, or maliciously untrue” that their intent was to disparage the employer’s product or service rather than appeal for support in a labor dispute.