By TRACEY DRURY
tdrury@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1609

A Buffalo nonprofit cited earlier this month by the National Labor Relations Board says it has done nothing wrong, and was in fact acting to protect an employee from harassment.

NLRB regulators issued a complaint May 9 against Hispanics United of Buffalo (HUB) alleging it unlawfully discharged five employees for criticizing working conditions on Facebook. According to an NLRB news release, the case involves an employee who, in advance of a meeting with management about working conditions, posted to her Facebook page a co-worker's allegation that employees did not do enough to help the organization's clients.  

The initial post generated responses from other employees who defended their job performance and criticized working conditions, including workload and staffing issues. After learning of the posts, Hispanics United discharged the five employees who participated, claiming that their comments constituted harassment of the employee originally mentioned in the post.

In a media statement sent through the law firm of LoTempio & Brown P.C., Hispanics United denied all allegations in the NLRB complaint. The agency said the five employees involved were terminated for harassing a co-worker both in and out of the workplace, including - but not limited to - the Facebook comments.

"The issue of working conditions was never raised by these terminated employees with HUB, nor did it factor into the decision to terminate them," the statement said. "The NLRB's complaint has failed to acknowledge HUB's obligation, under both federal and state law, to protect its employees from harassment and to ensure a non-hostile work environment."

The nonprofit agency provides social services to low-income clients, including transitional housing, a senior center and educational programs. It also offers translation and interpreting services. The West Side organization operates on a budget of $1.2 million, most of it from government contracts and grants.

The NLRB complaint alleges that the Facebook discussion was protected speech because it involved a conversation among co-workers about their terms and conditions of employment, including their job performance and staffing levels. HUB says the terminations were based solely on the statements and conduct directed at the harassed employee, which does not qualify as protected activity under the law.

Unless the case is settled, the complaint will be the subject of a hearing before an administrative law judge June 22 in the Buffalo office of the NLRB.