Social Networking Gone Wrong: Fired For Facebooking

Even non-union employers should be careful about how they respond to employee Facebook or other social networking posts. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently announced that it will pursue American Medical Response of Connecticut (American Medical) for allegedly firing an employee after she criticized her supervisor on Facebook. This is the first time that the NLRB will argue that employees’ social networking may be a protected activity when it relates to criticisms of employers.   Despite all…

Brett Favre and the New York Jets: Lessons for Employers

The New York Jets and the NFL have once again found themselves at the forefront of sexual harassment discussions in the media. This time the focus is on Brett Favre and former Jets sideline report Jenn Sterger. While the Ines Sainz situation highlighted the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace by non-employers, the Brett Favre scandal is much more complicated and intriguing.  Allegedly, while he was the quarterback for the New York Jets, future Hall of Famer…

Best Practices for Personnel Files

Did you know that there is no federal or Indiana law that requires a private-sector employer to give an employee (or former employee) access to his personnel file?  In keeping records, does your business make a distinction between true personnel records and other records such as medical records and unemployment compensation records? Did you know that under federal discrimination laws, employers should retain certain records for a period of at least 3 years? Whether you employ 1 person…