National labor attorneys are advising clients, including physician practices, to develop social media guidelines after the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against a Connecticut-based ambulance company for firing an employee who criticized her supervisor on Facebook, American Medical News reports.
NLRB argued that the comments were allowed under the National Labor Relations Act, which defines employee “protected concerted activities” as any circumstance that includes an employee speaking out to his or her employer as a way to improve working conditions.
NLRB — which oversees protections for private workers, including in hospitals and physician practices — issued guidelines for employers and employees to decide what qualifies as protected speech. The four-point test examines the place, subject and nature of the employee’s comments and if they were provoked by an unfair labor practice.
National labor attorneys said the NLRB complaint clarifies that medical practices and other employers have the right to tell employees they cannot post comments online thatĀ could harm the reputation of the business.
Susan Keating Anderson, an attorney with Walter & Haverfield, said physician practices should implement specific policies that explain what is acceptable and that ban workers from disclosing patient information and breaking HIPAA rules (Dolan, American Medical News, 11/29).
Source: iHealthBeat
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