劳动者社交媒体言论自由及其限制

Employee’s Freedom of Speech on Social Media and Its Restriction

近年来,我国劳动者因在社交媒体发表言论而与用人单位发生纠纷的案件数量较多。言论自由是公民的一项基本权利,其在劳动关系中也应得到保护。但劳动者言论自由与雇主的权利和利益有可能产生冲突,劳动者言论自由也应受到限制。从劳动法角度看,对劳动者言论自由进行限制的基础在于劳动者的忠实义务。劳动者的言论自由与其忠实义务及雇主的权利和利益需要平衡。我国法院在司法实践中通过考虑劳动者社交媒体言论行为的各种因素对其合法性作出判定。确立劳动者言论自由的边界需要在个案中考察劳动者社交媒体行为的"四要素",即行为是否符合雇主规章制度要求、行为动机、行为后果、行为情节以及相应的具体因素,从而判定劳动者行为是否损害雇主利益、违反忠实义务,并以此判定劳动者的社交媒体行为是否超出言论自由边界及是否合法。雇主对劳动者社交媒体言论行为采取的惩戒措施应符合比例原则。

In recent years,there have been many disputes between the employee and the employer in China resulting from the speeches made by the employee on social media.Freedom of speech is a basic right of citizens and therefore should also be protected in labor relations.However,the employee’s freedom of speech may conflict with the employer’s rights and interests and therefore should be restricted.From the perspective of labor law,the restriction on the employee’s freedom of speech is based on the employee’s duty of loyalty to his employer.Therefore,the employee’s freedom of speech needs to be balanced with his duty of loyalty and his employer’s rights and interests.In judicial practice,Chinese courts generally consider various factors around the employee’s speech on social media in judging the legitimacy of the speech.Establishing the boundaries of the employee’s freedom of speech requires an examination of the"four key factors"and related details of employee’s social media behavior in individual cases,including whether the behavior is in compliance with the employer’s rules of using social media,and the motivation,consequence and plot of the behavior,so to decide whether the employee’s behavior harms the employer’s interests,whether the employee violates his duty of loyalty,and whether the employee’s social media behavior is beyond the limit of freedom of speech and whether it is legal or not.The disciplinary measures taken by employers on employees’social media behavior should comply with the principle of proportionality.