PE employees unite!

GPs may not like it, but US employees who use social media like Facebook or Twitter to voice their displeasure at their employer firms could be exercising protected speech under federal law. 

Earlier this year the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board provided its second opinion affirming that digital social media (today’s office water cooler) is fair grounds for employees to engage in “concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection”.

So how can GPs draw a line between a staffer simply venting and one legitimately seeking to initiate a collective action? It’s not really that clear, says Jeff Klein, chair of the employment group at New York-based law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. And good luck sorting the difference because in some cases decisions have turned in part on whether an employee’s Facebook post, for example, elicited any comments from co-workers.

Private equity firms should accordingly make clear that their social media policies are not intended to limit employees’ protected rights under the National Labor Relations Act. And those GPs that outright ban social networking websites in the workplace should be mindful that the intent behind the policy matters too, according to legal sources. Sure you may have the right to block Facebook at work if it can be justified as a way of preventing employees from becoming distracted, but be careful of any ban that could be construed as chilling workers’ right to organise. 

GPs need to create social media policies that protect them from being disparaged by employees or vulnerable to leaks of confidential information, while still considering employees’ right to discuss wages and working conditions.

It’s a brave new world.