Social Media Employment Laws
At present, many people in the hospitality industry use social media platforms to promote their businesses. A right social media image attracts customers while negative social media image ruins businesses for hotels, restaurants and resorts. Negative reviews on the social media pages of hotels can turn into a loss because a large percentage of potential customers first review the social media pages before visiting the hotels. Due to the importance of social media, many employers in the hospitality industry have enacted policies that restrict employees from making negative comments about their workplace from their social media accounts. However, the new law by the National Labour and Relations Board (NLRB) prohibits employers from penalizing employees who make negative comments about their workplace on social media. This paper will review the court case that was filed against Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. for firing an employee who made a negative comment about Chipotle.
In 2015, Chipotle, a fast food chain, fired an employee, James Kennedy, shortly after posting a tweet criticizing Chipotle for underpaying employees. In line with Spitz (2015), a customer had tweeted about Chipotle thanking the fast-food chain for free food. James replied to the tweet saying, “nothing is free, only cheap #labor. Crew members only make $8.50/hr how much is that steak bowl really?” after that, Kennedy replied to another customer who had tweeted about the guacamole at Chipotle; he tweeted, “it’s extra not like #Qdoba, enjoy the extra $2.” In the first instance, Kennedy implied that although Chipotle gave free food to customers, the employees were underpaid and overworked. In the second tweet, Kennedy was referring to the fact that the guacamole at Chipotle was more expensive compared to other fast food chains. Kennedy was asked to take down the tweets since he was violating the social media policy of Chipotle. Although Kennedy took down the posts, he started a petition stating that the employees did not receive breaks as mandated by the law. Soon after, Kennedy got fired because he was violating the social media policy.
Kennedy filed a case against Chipotle on the grounds of illegal firing. Kennedy based his lawsuit on the NLRB law which prohibits employers against restraining their employees from posting negative comments about their workplaces on social media. On March, the court ruled in favour of Kennedy and found Chipotle guilty of violating the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). As stated by Jeffries (2017), Chipotle had violated the Act by maintaining overly-broad social media and work policies, ordering an employee to quit circulating a petition, and firing the employee when he refused to do so.
Judge Susan Flynn ruled that Chipotle should re-hire Kennedy as well as offer compensation for lost wages (Shah, 2016). Besides, the judge asked the Chipotle management to post signs acknowledging their error.
The ruling by the court made many hotels review that social media policy. Although the policy that Chipotle management enacted in firing Kennedy was outdated, the court still ruled that Chipotle had violated the National Labor Relations Act. The Chipotle case places many hospitality employers at crossroads as they try to manage their social media platforms and at the same time observe the NLRA.
The court was right about ruling against Chipotle. It was against the NLRA for Chipotle to fire an employee for his refusal to give up a petition. However, concerning social media remarks, the court should have ruled in favour of Chipotle. By ruling in favour of Kennedy, many employees got encouraged to post negative comments about their workplace. Some employees do not have logical reasons to post negative comments; instead, they do to infuriate their employers. As such, the court should have been more precise in stating the circumstances under which an employee can get fired for posting negative comments about their workplace.
The proliferation of social media platforms gives hospitality companies and organizations a more extensive marketing platform. However, as social media platforms increase, the risk of getting a negative image increases. As such, the need for employers to set social media policies to regulate their employees arises. To avoid violating the act, an employer should have a clear social media policy complies with the law.
For instance, before asking an employee to take down a negative post, the employer should first find the reason behind the post. If the post is an exaggeration or guesswork, the employee can be asked to take down the social media post. Also, the social media policy can prohibit employees from sharing incomplete, inaccurate or confidential information about the hotel. Also, the policy can also prevent improper use of the name of the hotel, restaurant or resort. Also, the policy can prohibit political discussions at work to avoid distractions. Such a policy does not violate the NLRA and at the same time protects the name of the hotel from a social media crisis.
In conclusion, the hospitality industry employees are shielded by the National Labor Relations Act. As evident from the case against Chipotle Mexican Grill by one of its employees, employers cannot restrain their employees from posting negative reviews about their workplace on social media. As such, the employers in the hospitality industry have to revise their social media policies in relation to the NLRA to avoid lawsuits like the one filed against Chipotle. In as much as employees have to be prohibited from tainting the reputation of their employer, the law prohibits employers from infringing on the rights of their employees.
References
Shah, S. (2016, March 17). Judge finds Chipotle’s social media policy violates labor laws. Retrieved May 5, 2019, from Digital Trends : https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/chipotle-social-media-labor-violation/
Spitz, C. W. (2016, March 28). SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE NLRA: LESSONS FOR HOSPITALITY EMPLOYERS FROM THE NLRB’S CHIPOTLE DECISION. Retrieved May 5, 2019, from POSTCHELL : http://www.postschell.com/publications/1209-social-media-nlra-lessons-hospitality-employers-from-nlrbs-chipotle
Jeffries, M. G. (2017, January 3). NLRB Finds Chipotle’s Policies Unlawful. Retrieved May 5, 2019, from The National Review: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nlrb-finds-chipotle-s-policies-unlawful