CorpComms Magazine

An American ambulance service that fired an employee after she posted derogatory comments about her supervisor on Facebook may have acted outside the law.

The Connecticut office of National Labor Relations Board, an independent agency which acts to remedy unfair labour practices, claimed that medical technician Dawnmarie Souza's comments were protected speech under federal law.

The challenge to American Medical Response's decision to fire Souza will throw into doubt the power of companies to discipline staff who make comments on social networking sites.

Two years ago, Virgin Atlantic fired 13 employees for comments made during a Facebook chat.

American Medical Response asked Souza to prepare a report after receiving several complaints from patients about her work. Upset by the request, Souza logged onto her personal Facebook page on her home computer and posted: 'Looks like I'm getting some time off. Love how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor.' The company's code for a psychiatric patient is a 17.

Her posts drew favourable comments from her colleagues, but Souza was fired shortly afterwards.

The National Labor Relations Board said that Souza had the right to engage in 'protected concerted activity'; Federal law protects the right of all employees to discuss the terms and conditions of their employment. Protected speech includes discussions with colleagues that are critical of management or co-workers.

It also claimed that American Medical Response's 'blogging and Internet posting policy' is overly broad, as it prohibits employees from posting pictures of themselves that depict the company without first obtaining permission and prohibits them from 'making disparaging, discriminatory or defamatory comments' about the company, colleagues or competitors.

The National Labor Relations Board's complaint will be heard by an Administrative Law Judge in January.

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