( CNN ) -- In what could prove to be a precedent-setting case , the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against a Connecticut company for firing an employee after she posted critical , derogatory comments about her supervisor on Facebook . The company , ambulance service American Medical Response , says emergency medical technician Dawnmarie Souza was fired because of `` multiple , serious complaints about her behavior , '' not because she took to a social networking site to describe her supervisor in various unflattering terms , among the mildest of which was comparing the supervisor to a psychiatric patient . The labor board , a federal agency that oversees union elections and investigates claims of unfair labor practices , accuses the company of illegally terminating Souza and denying her access to union representation during an investigatory review . The labor relations board argues that workers ' criticism of their bosses on social networking sites like Facebook is generally `` a protected concerted activity . '' `` You are permitted to talk about terms and conditions with employees or anyone else , it 's public because you are protected under the National Labor Act , '' says Jonathan Kreisberg , the board 's regional director in Hartford , Connecticut . Kreisberg says that in addition to describing her supervisor in unflattering and sometimes vulgar terms on her Facebook page , Souza also wrote about `` how the company allows a 17 to be a supervisor . '' The 17 reference is the company 's jargon for a psychiatric patient , Kreisberg says . The National Labor Act gives workers the right to form unions and it prohibits employers from taking action against employees -- union or non-union -- for discussing working conditions , says Kreisberg . He adds that the case could be `` ground-breaking '' because it is in the uncharted legal territory of social networking sites on the internet . `` It was Souza 's ... own page ; she did this on her own time in her own home . This case is different because in this situation it happened online and the company 's rules were unlawfully broad , '' says Kreisberg . In a statement to CNN , American Medical Response says it believes that the offensive statements made against the co-worker were not activities protected under federal law . The company `` denies the allegations made by the NLRB and believes the facts will show that they are without merit . The employee in question was discharged based on multiple , serious complaints about her behavior , '' the statement says . An attorney representing the ambulance company adds , `` This is not about Facebook . '' `` This employee was terminated after the company received complaints on two separate incidents in 2009 . All pointed to Souza 's rude and discourteous behavior with patients , '' says attorney Jackson Lewis . Souza , who was fired last December and who is seeking reinstatement to her job , declined comment to CNN , saying only that granting an interview would `` jeopardize her case at this point . '' On the issue of assistance from a union representative , the labor board says Souza wanted help from the union representing the company 's workers when she wrote up a response to the company . The company 's lawyer says she was not denied union representation . `` Before submitting her response , she checked in with her union representative , '' says Lewis . A labor board hearing for the case is scheduled for January 25 .
An employee in California complained about her supervisor on her Facebook page . She was fired , with the company saying it was for her safety , not her Facebook writings . The National Labor Relations board has issued a complaint against the company .