NLRB sends message over restrictions on online talk

Employers should think twice before trying to restrict workers from talking about their jobs on Facebook or other social media.

That's the message the government sent as it settled a closely watched lawsuit against a Connecticut ambulance company that fired an employee after she criticized her boss on Facebook. The National Labor Relations Board sued the firm last year, calling the worker's negative comments protected speech under federal labor laws. American Medical Response of Connecticut Inc. said it fired emergency medical technician Dawnmarie Souza over complaints about her work. Under the settlement with the labor board, American Medical Response of Connecticut agreed to change a blogging and Internet policy that barred workers from disparaging the company or its supervisors. The company also will revise another policy that prohibited employees from depicting the company in any way over the Internet without permission. The policies interfered with long-standing legal protections that let workers discuss wages, hours and working conditions with co-workers, the board said.