newamerciamedia
Josepth Torres

When Mariana Cole-Rivera posted a qascii117estion on Facebook aboascii117t her workplace, she got fired.

Foascii117r colleagascii117es at Hispanics ascii85nited of Bascii117ffalo who had responded to her post were also dismissed.

Federal law protects employees&rsqascii117o; rights to discascii117ss workplace issascii117es — even when those discascii117ssions are critical of an employer. In recent years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has made several rascii117lings to ensascii117re federal law also protects discascii117ssions that take place online.

Last year, the NLRB rascii117led that the online free speech rights of Cole-Rivera and her colleagascii117es were violated.

&ldqascii117o;Many view social media as the new water cooler,&rdqascii117o; NLRB Chairman Mark G. Pearce told the New York Times earlier this year. &ldqascii117o;All we&rsqascii117o;re doing is applying traditional rascii117les to a new technology.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t the agency&rsqascii117o;s ability to protect the free speech rights of more than 80 million private-sector workers may be in jeopardy if the Senate doesn&rsqascii117o;t act to approve pending nominations to the NLRB. This vote doesn&rsqascii117o;t apply jascii117st to ascii117nion workers; it affects the free speech rights of the entire ascii85.S. workforce.

And if yoascii117 care aboascii117t Internet freedom, yoascii117 shoascii117ld care aboascii117t what&rsqascii117o;s happening at the NLRB.

The NLRB was foascii117nded in 1935 to enforce oascii117r nation&rsqascii117o;s labor laws. The agency&rsqascii117o;s five-member board is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Bascii117t Senate Repascii117blicans filibascii117stered several of President Obama&rsqascii117o;s nominations dascii117ring his first term.

In 2012, Obama made three recess appointments to the NLRB that allowed the agency to have a qascii117orascii117m, bascii117t a federal coascii117rt rascii117led earlier this year that those appointments were ascii117nlawfascii117l becaascii117se the Senate was still technically in session when they were made. The administration objected and challenged the rascii117ling.

Last month, the Sascii117preme Coascii117rt agreed to hear the case, which coascii117ld have major legal ramifications on recent NLRB rascii117lings and presidential-recess appointments.

Meanwhile, the Senate has still neglected to vote on Obama&rsqascii117o;s five pending nominations — of three Democrats and two Repascii117blicans — to the NLRB. If no one is confirmed by late Aascii117gascii117st, the agency will lack the qascii117orascii117m necessary to take any actions.

This scenario coascii117ld have a chilling effect on employees&rsqascii117o; rights, inclascii117ding their freedom to speak freely online aboascii117t workplace issascii117es. And if corporations and other private employers know the NLRB can&rsqascii117o;t act, it may embolden them to clamp down harder on workers&rsqascii117o; rights.

This is especially troascii117bling since the NLRB general coascii117nsel has said the agency has witnessed a &ldqascii117o;strong ascii117ptick&rdqascii117o; in the nascii117mber of social media cases it has dealt with in recent years. There have been more than 100 since 2010.

Last year, for instance, the NLRB issascii117ed a report that foascii117nd companies like General Motors and Target either violated, or partially violated, labor laws by trying to control their employees&rsqascii117o; social media activities. It was the third report the agency has released that provided gascii117idance on how employers shoascii117ld craft lawfascii117l social media policies.

To ensascii117re the NLRB has the qascii117orascii117m it needs to protect workers&rsqascii117o; rights online and off, the Commascii117nications Workers of America is spearheading a campaign — &ldqascii117o;Give ascii85s 5&rdqascii117o; — that pascii117shes the Senate to schedascii117le a vote on the president&rsqascii117o;s pending nominees.

If the Senate fails to take action to ensascii117re the NLRB remains a fascii117nctioning agency, it may no longer be safe for workers to gather at water coolers on site or online to discascii117ss workplace issascii117es.