4. Career Activity: Employees have been fired for

“bad-mouthing employers” on Facebook and other social-networking sites (Trottman, 2011). For example, one paramedic using her home computer called her supervisor a “scumbag” on Facebook and was fired. The National Labor Relations Board has reviewed 113 cases and is using the 1935 Wagner Act to determine whether online actions are protected or not. So far, it appears that online complaints against an employer are not protected unless the complaints were made during an online discussion in which coworkers were complaining about such things as supervisory actions or working conditions.

Discussion: In groups of four to seven, answer the following:

a. What types of comments should Facebook users feel free to post about their employers, if any?

b. Should employers be able to fire or discipline workers for what they say on social networking sites? Why, or why not?