Source:
Association of Corporate Counsel,
Mary E. Windham, Labor & Employment attorney, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
Though the National Labor Relations Act has been around since the 1930s, its recent application to a relatively new sphere of activity, the virtual world of social media, has created a host of uncertainties. Are employees’ posts about their workplaces and colleagues on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media protected speech, or the stuff that may rightfully subject employees to discipline for violation of company policy prohibiting disparagement, discrimination, or defamation? Though the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has yet to issue a decision on social media policy, over the last nine months it has aggressively publicized complaints and settlements in connection with cases involving employer rules concerning social media use and employee discipline. Employers – both unionized and non-unionized – should review their social media policies and enforcement practices. In the midst of ongoing controversies and the continuing explosion of online social networks, employers should consider the following:
1. Why Your Company Needs a Social Media Policy
Social Media includes a constantly changing number and variety of internet and otherwise interactive sites, software, and communications that allow users to communicate with each other. Analysis of the social media demographic demonstrates clearly that nearly all demographic groups from nearly all regions of the world are already online in some form of social media, and their numbers are growing. Regardless of what your company does, people are talking about it – good, bad, or indifferent. Social media is becoming a mainstay in communications. This can be used to an employer’s advantage by acknowledging this reality to employees and customers, and managing risks by making it clear to employees where lines are drawn between professional and personal use of the medium. A social media policy, in simplest terms, is a company’s principles and guidelines for communicating online to the outside world.
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legal,
NLRA,
NLRB,
policies,
social media policies,
social media policy
As we have adopted social media into our organizations, we’ve seen many instances where it has become necessary to discipline employees because of their behavior on social networking sites due to the negative light that behavior has shed on a company. It goes without saying that because of these behaviors, companies have scrambled to draft social media policies to minimize these occurrences and to manage employee performance overall. In many circumstances, actions and policies are put into place to protect the employee as much as the company.
But aside from social behavior, social feedback is another component of social media that is becoming a growing trend in its impact on performance management – using the comments and / or criticisms a company receives on social networking sites to manage performance.
Have we reached a place within social media adoption where a company can (or should) use solicited (or unsolicited) comments, remarks or feedback as a basis for disciplinary action or to affect a single employee’s performance plan. And is social feedback any different from a comment card or if someone called in and complained?
If you’re a company who manages a Facebook page, you undoubtedly have received negative as much as positive feedback on your wall. As we all well know, Twitter is often the “911 button” for disgruntled consumers. As a company, what do you do when you receive social feedback that refers to a specific employee by name? Or perhaps not by name, but with enough data mining, you can trace the situation back to a particular employee?
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compliance,
hr,
performance management,
performance review,
policies,
social feedback,
social media policies
I recently came across this article and thought I would repost it here. It provides unbelievable depth and expert advice on how to structure an effective social media policy, making it an excellent resource for individuals creating a social media policy within your own organization.
Creating a policy about blogging and social networking offers a chance to minimize the risks for employers, says attorney Thomas Deer. It makes employees aware of their employers’ position on the use of social media, and it provides a reference point if it is necessary to take adverse action against someone for their online activity.
Deer’s tips on social networking came at BLR’s National Employment Law Update held last week in Las Vegas. Deer is a shareholder in the Chicago office of law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC.
When preparing policies to deal with blogging, employers should be cautious about not going “too far,” Deer says. The NLRA can be a tripwire for the unwary. For example, a policy prohibiting employees from saying “anything negative” about their employer would clearly run afoul of the NLRB since this type of discussion is at the core of the right to form unions or engage in concerted activity.
It is much better to be specific in prohibitions against disclosing “trade secrets,” and “business confidential information like customer list, business plans, formulas and pricing data” or “private confidential information about other employees like social security numbers, medical records and the like,” Deer says.
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compliance,
social media policies,
social media policy
I’m researching for my upcoming presentation at the Conference Board’s “Social Media and HR” conference, and I came across this great post. I thought I would share it here. If you plan on attending the Social Media and HR conference, please let me know! I’d love to connect in person.
Enterprise social networking tools heighten business collaboration, but they also introduce new risks and challenges. In the absence of an aggressive, risk-based approach to HR and compliance regulations, business social networking tools – whether private or public – could put your enterprise in jeopardy.
You’ve just arrived in San Diego for a business trip. While heading to the hotel, you update your MyLinkedBook status page to announce your arrival. Pretty innocuous, right? Well, it turns out that one of your followers is a TechTarget reporter who suspects you’re involved in M&A activity, and this seemingly innocent update has just fueled the rumor that your company is buying Spaceley Sprockets out of San Diego. Welcome to the world of social networking! It is the next wave of enterprise online collaboration, and the best way for HR and compliance to get out in front of the wave is with a risk-based approach.
Enterprise social networking adoption
Social networking has seen rapid adoption by the general public, with enterprise social networking following. Participants in Nemertes’ research note a 26.32% adoption rate, with 45.79% indicating no intention to use. (Please see Figure 1: Use of Social Networking.)
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compliance,
hr,
legal,
policies,
social media policies
It could almost read like a personals ad: mature, rules-oriented, ethical and upright professional seeks partner who is strong, law-abiding and willing to offer support in times of hard labor.
Many companies are still struggling to find the perfect match between workplace guidelines and legal precedence — and how far social media policies can extend outside of the traditional four walls. What was seen as the opportunity to create legal precedence — or at the very least clarity — regarding this, was the highly watched case of Souza vs AMR.
Back in 2009, Dawnmarie Souza, an emergency medical technician with ambulance service company American Medical Response of Connecticut, was fired after criticizing her supervisor on Facebook. Her case was scheduled to be heard before a federal labor board judge in Hartford, Connecticut, on Feb. 8. But what many companies were hoping would be a way to establish legal precedence on workplace behavior and social media has now been settled out of court, leaving still many unanswered questions as to what is and what’s not enforceable when it comes to social media participation.
Employees may be rejoicing, but some legal experts are disappointed that the National Labor Relations Board reached a settlement on Feb. 7 with a company that fired an employee for bad mouthing her boss on Facebook, dashing hopes for a legal precedent to guide employers’ social media policies.
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career management,
employees,
guidelines,
labor,
social media policies,
social media policy,
workforce,
workplace guidelines
You Need a Social Networking Policy Now
