Discharged for Facebook Comments (Essay Sample)

Discharged for Facebook Comments
Name
Institution
Discharged for Facebook Comments
The case study that is presented in this paper provides a prevalent organizational issue in the work setting. It will use three sources; two books and a website. The book titled "The Labor Relations Process" explores the history of labor from inception to existing trends that highlight the government, global and white collar contexts. It also includes chapters with comprehensive reviews of the relation between labor and management. The second book explains about AUP (acceptable use policy) amongst employees. On the other hand, the website will highlight the current NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) developments about the policies set for social media. It also presents the role of NLRA (National Labor Relations Act) in protecting the rights of employees.
Organizational leaders and managers face difficulties when maintaining procedures and policies to tackle employment issues arising from the use of technology (Holley, Jennings, and Wolters, 2011). Betty Nelson faces a problem that most employees experience in their line of duty. However, managers and leaders can protect themselves from problems created by technology using AUP. AUP refers to a set of rules that control the way employees from using a system, website, or network (King, 2007). AUPs possess a plethora of components;
* An account of the sustainable educational approaches and values for the access of internet in the firm.
* A report on the instructional benefits and uses of the internet in the firm.
* A convention of ethical behavior which governs internet behavior.
* A depiction of the penalty for AUP violation.
* A disclaimer which releases a firm from any responsibility.
* A declaration stating that the AUP upholds national and state telecommunication regulations and rules.
* A proclamation that reminds users that accessing the Internet and using computer systems is a privilege rather than a right.
The issue of whether employers possess the legal right to discharge or discipline employees for the statements they make regarding their respective firms remains contentious. The First Amendment fails to protect employees in private firms, whereby they do not have the constitutional responsibility to stand "free speech" from employees on social media (Westheimer, 2014). However, private firms must consider several state regulations and NLRA that forbid them from controlling personnel for off-duty behavior. Therefore, I would insist on settling the union charges willingly if I was the company representative in this case, and the NLRB regional director requests the settlement. Paying union charges would prevent time consumption and wastage of resources.
Additionally, the company did not commit unfair labor practice when discharging Nelson after her comments on Facebook. It did not commit unfair labor practice by disallowing Nelson to meet with her regional union representative during the investigatory meeting with her supervisor or by imposing an overly extensive internet usage and blogging policy.
Organizations should enforce policies equally. The AUP should identify instances where some individuals are excused from particular policies. In this case, the NLRB would agree that the employee...