Charity Ordered to Rehire Workers Fired Over Facebook Posts
September 7, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
A National Labor Relations Board judge has ordered a Buffalo, N.Y., social-service group to rehire five employees who were fired for posting complaints about working conditions on Facebook, says the Buffalo television station WGRZ.
Backing a complaint filed in May by the federal agency, the judge ruled that Hispanics United of Buffalo unlawfully discharged the workers and must reinstate them with back pay.
The judge said the online discussion of staffing and workload issues at Hispanics United was covered by federal labor law protecting conversation among coworkers about their employment conditions.
In a statement, the charity said it would appeal the ruling and asserted that the workers were fired because the Facebook posts involved “bullying and harassment” of a co-worker arising from a personal dispute.
