Employee walkout may be protected, but not sharing of confidential info

Q         An employee organized a mass “call in sick day” on social media and bad-mouthed the company. She also posted confidential financial information, including her coworkers’ pay rates. Can we fire her?

A   The posting of confidential financial information alone justifies her termination. Employees have a duty of loyalty to their employer as long as they are employed, and depending on the information that was publicized, you may even have some civil claim against her.

If all she did was organize a mass sick day or a walkout, whether she could be fired legally would be a bit murkier. Federal labor laws protect some concerted activity in some circumstances, including strikes and picketing. For example, organizing a walkout in protest of unsafe work conditions is more likely to be protected. Whether this employee’s actions are protected would require further analysis.

Eric Loman is an attorney with Jackson Loman Stanford Downey & Stevens-Block, P.C., in Albuquerque, New Mexico. You can reach him at eric@jacksonlomanlaw.com.