Young Basile represented IXL Learning, a leading Silicon Valley-based provider of online educational services, in a cutting edge employment law dispute with a former employee who filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board. In a case of first impression under the National Labor Relations Act, the former employee alleged that IXL violated federal labor laws after firing him for posting false accusations about the company on a popular job search website. The San Francisco Region of the NLRB filed a complaint against IXL, asserting that the employee had engaged in protected concerted activity and that his termination was retaliatory in violation of the Act. After a trial in San Francisco, Young Basile obtained a complete dismissal of all claims asserted by the NLRB. The decision is an important development in the NLRB’s continued attempt to apply the Act’s concerted activity protections to employee use of social media and other online venues.
