Law Commons^™

Expanding Nlra Protection Of Employee Organizational Blogs: Non-Discriminatory Access And The Forum-Based Disloyalty Exception, Andrew F. Hettinga

Chicago-Kent Law Review

As they fight for better working conditions both in the union and non-union context, employees increasingly use online web logs or "blogs" to better organize themselves. For organizational purposes, these blogs present numerous advantages over more traditional speech forms. This article adds to the growing voices calling for explicit protection of employee blogs under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), which protects "concerted" employee action taken "for mutual aid and protection" from employer retaliation, provided that such blogs otherwise comply with NLRA requirements. Furthermore, by analogizing to past NLRA jurisprudence concerning traditional organizational speech, this article argues …