F&I and Showroom, October 2015

Management 34 F I and Showroom October 2015Get Connected F I and Showroom readers are among the nations best informed automotive sales and fi nance professionals FI08 8811To advertise in the next issue of F I and Showroom contact David Gesualdo at 7279474027 or david gesualdo@ bobit com Board NLRB is an independent federal agency that enforces violations of the NLRA commonly referred to as unfair labor practices The NLRA gives employees the right to engage in protected concerted activities which basically prevents employers from retaliating against employees who take action for their mutual aid or protection regarding terms and conditions of employment While the NLRB has historically focused on unionized workplaces the use of social media has brought employment issues at non unionized employers into the limelight And in recent cases the NLRB has taken an incredibly employee friendly stance So when cant you discipline someone for a social media post When the post is connected to a term or condition of employment An example would be an online discussion between employees about safety concerns at work or discriminatory pay practices Does that mean all workplace related posts are off limits for discipline No If one employee is bullying or harassing another employee online you can take action in accordance with your harassment policy If an employee calls in sick then posts a selfie waiting in line at the American Ninja Warrior tryouts that same day you are probably OK to discipline that individual in accordance with your attendance policy So far that seems pretty simple right The law hasnt changed since 1935 so there is a ton of case law and clear cut guidelines But while the laws havent changed the technology has and so has the way the NLRB interprets the law and applies it to cases involving social media So as a manager or dealer what would you do if you saw one of your employees post an explicative laden note about you on his Facebook page You would probably fire him on the spot right Well thats what catering company Pier Sixty LLC did when an employee did exactly that The terminated employee however filed an unfair labor practice charge against Pier Sixty And in a shocking decision the NLRB sided with the employee It did so for two reasons