Numerous posts tagged Nissan. The automaker responded on social media, saying it had informed dealership management of the comments “so that they may handle them accordingly.”
“Nissan dealerships are independently owned and operated,” Nissan North America said in a statement to Automotive News. “However, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, we work daily with each dealer to understand their situation and what support they need to maintain their business and support current and future Nissan owners.”
On April 19, Lynn appeared to write on her personal Facebook page that she needed to respond “based on the negative posts concerning Geri Lynn Nissan.”
In part, she wrote, “I APOLOGIZE to any employee who thinks I puposefully (sic) hurt them. My team is my business and means the world to me.”
The page is no longer available, and Lynn didn’t respond to questions about it. A response also was posted to the dealership’s Facebook page April 19.
“We are a small family business and we are working hard to survive” Lynn wrote to Automotive News. “We continue to support our team, their families and our customers throughout this unprecedented time. It is truly unfortunate that our efforts have been clearly twisted and attacked.”
In a social media uproar, crisis communications expert Thom Fladung, a managing partner at Hennes Communications in Cleveland, recommends businesses be transparent, apologize when appropriate and reach out directly to the employee to talk about the issue and what both sides can do to make it right.
“You certainly don’t try to get in a flame war on social media,” he said.
Fladung also advises clients to talk with other employees who have seen the posts, acknowledge mistakes, explain how the business intends to fix issues and take their questions. Businesses also should provide a statement to customers and post it on the company’s website, he said.
Beyond the social media outcry, the episode brings up questions about what an employer can and can’t do in such situations. Employee fears may not meet a legal threshold, dealership lawyers told Automotive News.
“Generally speaking, employees are only entitled to refuse to work if they believe they are in imminent danger,” said Matt Simpson, a partner in Fisher Phillips law firm and co-chairman of its dealership practice group in Atlanta. “And even in the pandemic, most dealership work conditions are not going to meet the elements of imminent danger.”
Most dealers, Simpson said, are making efforts to maintain a clean workplace, monitoring employee health, disinfecting work areas and observing social distancing. Simpson and other lawyers said many are being flexible and allowing employee leaves, dependent on their situation.
Several dealership lawyers told Automotive News they had not seen an employment modification letter like Geri Lynn Nissan’s, but some indicated dealership clients have modified pay plans during the pandemic.
Vicki Crochet, a partner in the Taylor Porter law firm in Baton Rouge, La., overseeing the firm’s employment, labor and benefits practice group, said employment in Louisiana is at-will.
“Unless there is a contract for a definite term, the employer has a lot of freedom in terms of changing the terms of employment,” she said.
Crochet said if an employee were to get sick with COVID-19, it would be hard to prove it was an employer’s fault.
“Another question is, ‘I’m scared to come to work and can my employer fire me?’ ” she said. “And the answer to that [in Louisiana] is probably yes.”
There may, however, be limitations on firing someone with underlying health conditions and deemed to have a disability, Crochet said.
