Fired for their Facebook activity. Two former employees of a Watertown sports bar deserve their job back, the National Labor Relations Board ruled recently.
It started in 2011 when a former employee of Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille in Watertown posted on their Facebook page that they owed taxes and bashed the restaurant and their bosses.
Jillian Sanzone, a waitress at the time, chimed in on the conversation saying she too owed taxes. She also used profanity in her post.
Vincent Spinella, a cook at the time, liked one of the posts and did not comment.
Shortly after, the two were fired from their job.
Three years after the incident, the National Labor Relations Board ruled the posts were protected and that both employees deserve their job back and that they also deserve back pay.
The board also ruled the restaurant must not maintain an internet and blogging policy that prohibits employees from engaging in, "inappropriate discussions about the company, management, and/or co-workers."
It is unknown whether the owners of the restaurant, Ralph DelBuono and Thomas Daddona will appeal the decision.
The case was watched closely by many because it addressed several important issues in regard to social media, including the use of the "Like" option on Facebook.