According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers have the right to publicly gripe about workplace conditions without suffering retribution. An NLRB judgment in a messy case last week reaffirmed the stance. An employee at a Buffalo nonprofit complained about the work ethic of a coworker on Facebook, and coworkers piled on in comments. After the organization fired the employees, citing an anti-cyber harassment policy, one of them filed a complaint via the NLRB.

Engadget reports the judge ruled in favor of the employee because the discussion had to do with terms and conditions of employment, job performance and staffing levels, ordering the company to reinstate the fired workers. The judge ruled that the company violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act and also ordered it to post the workers’ rights under the act, as well as the company’s violations.

The company can appeal the decision.

Judge rules in favor of employees fired over Facebook post, orders them back to work [Engadget]

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