{"id":1106,"date":"2019-08-26T16:39:29","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T16:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1106"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T14:57:00","slug":"employee-behavior-outside-of-work","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/chapter\/employee-behavior-outside-of-work\/","title":{"raw":"Employee Behavior Outside of Work","rendered":"Employee Behavior Outside of Work"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Discuss laws related to employee behavior outside of the workplace<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Discuss laws related to employee social media use<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nFederal laws related to employee behavior include the National Labor Relations Act (discussed below) and the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act (discussed in <a href=\"..\/chapter\/why-it-matters-safety-health-and-risk-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Module 14:\u00a0Safety, Health, and Risk Management<\/a>), as well as the laws that apply to human conduct in general. However, an employer\u2019s ability to control or discipline an employee\u2019s behavior outside the workplace is typically regulated by state law. Thus, it is essential to know the laws of your state.\r\n\r\nIn general, state laws variously protect employee\u2019s right to participate in political activities, to volunteer for civic organizations and to smoke or drink outside working hours. The laws also detail the circumstances under which an employer can restrict or modify policies based on lawful off-duty behavior.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>California State LAw<\/h3>\r\nFor example, California law, which applies to all employers, protects an employee\u2019s right to engage in political activity and specifies that employers are prohibited from controlling or influencing political activities or affiliations or restricting employees participation in political activities. Illinois protects an employee\u2019s right to off-duty use of lawful products but also allows employers to \u201coffer, impose or implement a health, disability or life insurance policy that makes distinctions between employees for the type of coverage or price of coverage based on the employee\u2019s use of lawful products, under certain circumstances.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/6aafbcc3-f646-4076-abb4-9f4d0b5343e1\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\r\nConsider developing and working through relevant scenarios using SimplicityHR\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplicityhr.com\/employment-law\/off-duty-behavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Can you fire an employee for their off-duty behavior<\/a>?\u201d article as a prompt.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Employee Social Media Use<\/h2>\r\nEmployee use of social media may or may not be protected as \u201cconcerted activity\u201d by the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) notes that an employee has \u201cthe right to act with co-workers to address work-related issues. Examples include: talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits or other working conditions, circulating a petition asking for better hours, participating in a concerted refusal to work in unsafe conditions, openly talking about your pay and benefits, and joining with co-workers to talk directly to your employer, to a government agency, or to the media about problems in your workplace.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlrb.gov\/rights-we-protect\/whats-law\/employees\/i-am-represented-union\/concerted-activity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Concerted Activity<\/a>.\" National Labor Relations Board. Accessed September 12, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nAn employer \u201ccannot discharge, discipline, or threaten [an employee] for, or coercively question you about,\u201d this type of activity. However, making statements that are \u201cegregiously offensive or knowingly and maliciously false,\u201d or \u201cpublicly disparaging your employer's products or services without relating your complaints to any labor controversy\u201d is not protected concerted activity.\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\r\nFor perspective on what is protected and not protected activity, refer to the NLRB\u2019s interactive map and summaries of recent cases: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlrb.gov\/case-related-map\">Case Map<\/a>.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nSimplicityHR reports that claims of wrongful termination (retaliation) due to online remarks is \u201cthe leading type of claim filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.\u201d[footnote]\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplicityhr.com\/employment-law\/off-duty-behavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Can You Fire and Employee for Their Off-Duty Behavior?<\/a>\" Simplicity HR. Accessed September 12, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Legislation to watch<\/h3>\r\nHouse Rule 537\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/113th-congress\/house-bill\/537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Networking Online Protection Ac<\/a>t (SNOPA), introduced in the House on 02\/06\/2013 but parked at the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections since 4\/23\/2013.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog notes that using social media in hiring decisions can expose an employer to liability.[footnote]Lubeley,\u00a0Aaron R. and\u00a0Candace Bertoldi \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calpeculiarities.com\/2013\/04\/17\/she-posted-what-employers-face-increased-legal-scrutiny-for-using-social-media-in-hiring-decisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">She Posted What? Employers Face Increased Legal Scrutiny for Using Social Media in Hiring Decisions.<\/a>\" Seyfarth Shaw. April 17, 2013. Accessed September 12, 2019.[\/footnote] California\u2019s AB 1844 prohibits employers from requesting an applicant's log-in information, asking applicants to \u201cfriend\u201d other employees, or asking an applicant\u2019s \u201cfriends\u201d to disclose what the applicant has posted on social media. Although employers are not specifically prohibited from accessing publicly available information, the author\u2019s advise against it, noting it could be a \u201cdiscrimination trap,\u201d since social media reveals personal information that would be illegal to ask during the hiring process.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/d9c28ad1-ead8-4e61-b2ac-c424cfe6fddf\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Discuss laws related to employee behavior outside of the workplace<\/li>\n<li>Discuss laws related to employee social media use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Federal laws related to employee behavior include the National Labor Relations Act (discussed below) and the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act (discussed in <a href=\"..\/chapter\/why-it-matters-safety-health-and-risk-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Module 14:\u00a0Safety, Health, and Risk Management<\/a>), as well as the laws that apply to human conduct in general. However, an employer\u2019s ability to control or discipline an employee\u2019s behavior outside the workplace is typically regulated by state law. Thus, it is essential to know the laws of your state.<\/p>\n<p>In general, state laws variously protect employee\u2019s right to participate in political activities, to volunteer for civic organizations and to smoke or drink outside working hours. The laws also detail the circumstances under which an employer can restrict or modify policies based on lawful off-duty behavior.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>California State LAw<\/h3>\n<p>For example, California law, which applies to all employers, protects an employee\u2019s right to engage in political activity and specifies that employers are prohibited from controlling or influencing political activities or affiliations or restricting employees participation in political activities. Illinois protects an employee\u2019s right to off-duty use of lawful products but also allows employers to \u201coffer, impose or implement a health, disability or life insurance policy that makes distinctions between employees for the type of coverage or price of coverage based on the employee\u2019s use of lawful products, under certain circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_6aafbcc3-f646-4076-abb4-9f4d0b5343e1\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/6aafbcc3-f646-4076-abb4-9f4d0b5343e1?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_6aafbcc3-f646-4076-abb4-9f4d0b5343e1\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<p>Consider developing and working through relevant scenarios using SimplicityHR\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplicityhr.com\/employment-law\/off-duty-behavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Can you fire an employee for their off-duty behavior<\/a>?\u201d article as a prompt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Employee Social Media Use<\/h2>\n<p>Employee use of social media may or may not be protected as \u201cconcerted activity\u201d by the National Labor Relations Act. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) notes that an employee has \u201cthe right to act with co-workers to address work-related issues. Examples include: talking with one or more co-workers about your wages and benefits or other working conditions, circulating a petition asking for better hours, participating in a concerted refusal to work in unsafe conditions, openly talking about your pay and benefits, and joining with co-workers to talk directly to your employer, to a government agency, or to the media about problems in your workplace.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Concerted Activity.&quot; National Labor Relations Board. Accessed September 12, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1106-1\" href=\"#footnote-1106-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>An employer \u201ccannot discharge, discipline, or threaten [an employee] for, or coercively question you about,\u201d this type of activity. However, making statements that are \u201cegregiously offensive or knowingly and maliciously false,\u201d or \u201cpublicly disparaging your employer&#8217;s products or services without relating your complaints to any labor controversy\u201d is not protected concerted activity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<p>For perspective on what is protected and not protected activity, refer to the NLRB\u2019s interactive map and summaries of recent cases: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlrb.gov\/case-related-map\">Case Map<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>SimplicityHR reports that claims of wrongful termination (retaliation) due to online remarks is \u201cthe leading type of claim filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"&quot;Can You Fire and Employee for Their Off-Duty Behavior?&quot; Simplicity HR. Accessed September 12, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1106-2\" href=\"#footnote-1106-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Legislation to watch<\/h3>\n<p>House Rule 537\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/113th-congress\/house-bill\/537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Networking Online Protection Ac<\/a>t (SNOPA), introduced in the House on 02\/06\/2013 but parked at the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections since 4\/23\/2013.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The California Peculiarities Employment Law Blog notes that using social media in hiring decisions can expose an employer to liability.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Lubeley,\u00a0Aaron R. and\u00a0Candace Bertoldi &quot;She Posted What? Employers Face Increased Legal Scrutiny for Using Social Media in Hiring Decisions.&quot; Seyfarth Shaw. April 17, 2013. Accessed September 12, 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-1106-3\" href=\"#footnote-1106-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a> California\u2019s AB 1844 prohibits employers from requesting an applicant&#8217;s log-in information, asking applicants to \u201cfriend\u201d other employees, or asking an applicant\u2019s \u201cfriends\u201d to disclose what the applicant has posted on social media. Although employers are not specifically prohibited from accessing publicly available information, the author\u2019s advise against it, noting it could be a \u201cdiscrimination trap,\u201d since social media reveals personal information that would be illegal to ask during the hiring process.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice Question<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_d9c28ad1-ead8-4e61-b2ac-c424cfe6fddf\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/d9c28ad1-ead8-4e61-b2ac-c424cfe6fddf?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_d9c28ad1-ead8-4e61-b2ac-c424cfe6fddf\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1106\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Employee Behavior Outside of Work. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Nina Burokas. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1106-1\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlrb.gov\/rights-we-protect\/whats-law\/employees\/i-am-represented-union\/concerted-activity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Concerted Activity<\/a>.\" National Labor Relations Board. Accessed September 12, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1106-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1106-2\">\"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplicityhr.com\/employment-law\/off-duty-behavior\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Can You Fire and Employee for Their Off-Duty Behavior?<\/a>\" Simplicity HR. Accessed September 12, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1106-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-1106-3\">Lubeley,\u00a0Aaron R. and\u00a0Candace Bertoldi \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.calpeculiarities.com\/2013\/04\/17\/she-posted-what-employers-face-increased-legal-scrutiny-for-using-social-media-in-hiring-decisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">She Posted What? Employers Face Increased Legal Scrutiny for Using Social Media in Hiring Decisions.<\/a>\" Seyfarth Shaw. April 17, 2013. Accessed September 12, 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1106-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Employee Behavior Outside of Work\",\"author\":\"Nina Burokas\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"a05d84f5-797e-4e52-aa89-4a8c360580e9, eef6c408-cfad-407e-8e92-7c75eaa14b12, 1f9aa9d0-a8a0-4f3d-bfcd-68dcccb992d0","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1106","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1100,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3468,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1106\/revisions\/3468"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1100"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1106\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1106"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1106"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-humanresourcesmgmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}