Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

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From the state that just loves our sloppy seconds — out-of-work wide receiver who cries about a fumbling quarterback say, “What. It’s unfair. That’s my quarterback.” — comes this case about a Facebooking emergency medical technician from Texas.

To protect the innocent — in the event that you’ve yet to click on the case link — we’ll call the employee-plaintiff “Misguided.” Misguided the EMT was fired after posting on his co-worker’s Facebook wall about how he wanted to boot a ultimate fighter patient in the head.

Instead of just swallowing the bitter pill, Misguided sued his former employer for — get this — intrusion upon seclusion. (basically, an invasion of privacy).

Invasion of privacy on a co-worker’s Facebook page. And people wonder how I get material for this blog.

Feel me flow on this steaming pile after the jump…

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knowwhatyouaredoing.pngA website called WeKnowWhatYoureDoing.com, which describes itself as a “social networking privacy experiment,” has begun compiling publicly available Facebook status updates from your employees, which fall into one of four categories:

  1. “Who wants to get fired?”
  2. “Who’s hungover”
  3. “Who’s taking drugs”
  4. “Who’s got a new phone number?”

Although the content may be crude, the site’s mission is noble — to educate social networkers about Facebook privacy controls:

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On June 18, 2012, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives introduced the Social Media Privacy Protection Act, which would protect the privacy of employee online user names and passwords.

A summary of the bill, and what this could mean for PA employers, follows after the jump…

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ThreeI heard that there was some Supreme Court decision yesterday about healthcare. Want the scoop? Google it.

They zig, I’ll zag with the scoop on some other pending employment-law legislation of which employers should take note…after the jump…

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shrmlogo.jpgLess than one week to go before the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition kicks off. I’ll be there. And here’s where we can meet up:

Monday night you can find me discussing cutting-edge HR/employment-law issues at The Official #SHRM12 TweetUp & Afterparty powered by SHRM & Glassdoor. And if you believe that, I’ll let you buy the first round. I prefer Johnny Blue and Cristal boilermakers. Cuz I’m a baller.

At 10 AM on Tuesday, I’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Live from the HIVE, Social Media Policy 101, for a Q&A with my buddy Curtis Midkiff. I’ll hang out afterwards to discuss any questions you may have. Those who bring me Red Bull Sugar Free will get their questions answered first. Unless, of course, you have cash.

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And she’s making news again…

It’s been nine long months since I blogged about a favorite of The Employer Handbook: Natalie Munroe. You can read about her here, here, here, and here.

She is the PA teacher who, on her blog, described her students as argumentative f*cks who may engage in Columbine-style shootings. She got  suspended, but was later reinstated, and taught during this school year.

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Spy vs Sci 558John and Mary are co-workers. They are also Facebook friends. And both John and Mary have adjusted their respective Facebook privacy settings such that only Facebook friends can view what they post online from their individual accounts. Consequently, John and Mary can view each other’s Facebook posts, but Sam the Supervisor, who is also on Facebook, cannot. Neither John nor Mary are Facebook friends with Sam.

ABC Company, John and Mary’s employer, wants access to Mary’s Facebook account. On behalf of ABC, Sam demands that John login to his Facebook account on a work computer and then allow Sam to shoulder surf as John views Mary’s Facebook postings. Fearing for his job, John relents.

Does Mary have a claim against ABC Company for invasion of privacy?

The answer follows after the jump…

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Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board‘s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon issued a new report on social media cases brought to the agency, this time focusing exclusively on policies governing the use of social media by employees. It includes a copy of a social media policy that the NLRB found to be lawful.

However, the report, as a whole, left me shaking my head. Inconsistent, overreaching, it’s a hot tepid mess. So, before you go all cut and paste on me from that sample policy, read my critical two cents after the jump…

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Well, that didn’t take long.

Late last month, I reported on a bill that had been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, known as the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA), that would prohibit employers, schools, and universities from requiring someone to provide a username, password or other access to online content.

Now, it’s the U.S. Senate’s turn to get in on the act with its own password bill. Plus, after the jump, I’ll have an update on similar legislation winding its way to Governor Christie in New Jersey…

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Yesterday, I gave my social media in the workplace spiel to a great crowd in Hershey, PA, at the Banyan Consulting 12th Annual Conference. Not surprisingly, the majority of questions posed involved the attention that the National Labor Relations Board has paid to social-media-related employee discipline. And that reminded me that a case I discussed earlier this week, the one involving overly-broad handbooks policies that restricted employee discussions of wages, had a second component worth discussing; namely, an unlawful Facebook firing. More after the jump…

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