Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

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Last week, I reported that a Pennsylvania state court had ruled that a plaintiff did not have to provide access to her Facebook page during discovery by accepting a “friend” request from defense counsel. That same week, another Pennsylvania state court was asked to resolve whether a plaintiff’s “privacy rights” would trump a defendant’s request to access the plaintiff’s Facebook and MySpace accounts to discover facts relating to the plaintiff’s claim for damages.

Pennsylvania has become a hotbed of social-media-discovery litigation. Who knew?

I break down the latest decision, which I predict will be a “go-to” for defendants and courts alike, after the jump.

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As I previously reported, on May 9, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board issued a Complaint, in which it alleges that a NY non-profit company fired five employees for complaining on Facebook about working conditions. Now, Law 360 reports that the NLRB has issued a second complaint against a Chicago-area luxury car dealership alleging the company ran afoul of federal labor laws by firing a sales employee over a message he posted on Facebook.

Molly DiBianca at The Delaware Employment Law Blog brought this second complaint to my attention and you can read her write-up on it here.

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As some of you may know, word has surfaced about a Complaint that the National Labor Relations Board filed last week against a NY non-profit. The NLRB alleges that company fired five employees for complaining on Facebook about working conditions.

The NLRB has issued a press release and much has already been written about this Complaint by some great employment-law bloggers. So be sure to check out the links below:

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If, in a pending civil action, the defendant requests to Facebook “friend” the plaintiff in order to learn more about the plaintiff’s claims, must the plaintiff accept the friend request?

This is precisely the issue that a PA Court of Common Pleas recently faced.

So, what happened? Find out after the jump.

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I was considering three topics for today’s post:

  1. A teacher who was fired for watching 67 seconds of pornography;
  2. This smokin-hot cheerleader, fired for the NSFW-version of the photo on the right, who has filed a national-origin discrimination claim against the Indianapolis Colts; or
  3. A National Labor Relations Board Advice Memorandum on employee use of Twitter in the workplace.

I went with No. 3. I stand by my decision. 

Now, how do I erase my browser history?

While I figure that out, you hit jump for more on why the National Labor Relations Board found no unfair labor practice when: (a) a unionized newspaper company, (b) with no social media policy, (c) which encouraged its employees to use Twitter, fired a reporter based on a few tweets.

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More than a quarter of people surveyed from around the world are going online in their hunt for work, but many are growing nervous about the potential career fallout from personal content on social networking sites, according to a recent survey.

Highlights of this report after the jump…

 

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Earlier this week, I wrote about a nurse who was fired and denied unemployment compensation benefits because, instead of medicating a patient, she was busy posting Facebook updates about a colleague who had soiled herself.

Oy!

But that’s nothing compared to the New England emergency room doctor who was fired for posting pictures of a patient on her Facebook page.

When will people every learn? More about the Facebooking doc and some tips for employers to avoid messes like these after the jump…

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If you read this blog (or just about any other labor and employment law blog), you know that social media policies have fallen under recent heightened scrutiny because of the chilling effect they could have on employees discussing terms and conditions of employment (e.g., wages, hours, etc.) with each other online. Where there is no controversy, however, is that companies may discipline employees who shirk their job responsibilities and goof of online — especially while on the clock.

After the jump, it’s a decision from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania denying unemployment compensation benefits to a nurse who was fired for using Facebook at work while she should have been medicating patients.

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What better way to celebrate the 100th blog post at https://www.theemployerhandbook.com than with booze, hookers, and penicillin shots an announcement that I will be contributing to HR and Social Media: Practical and Legal Guidance, a book available for sale this Summer from Thompson Publishing.

I will be writing about the role of social media as it relates to litigation and discovery.

You can view the full all-star lineup of contributors to this book here. These writers are not just lawyers who think they know social media. These are all social-networking employment-law attorneys who know wazzup, yo. So, clear a spot on your human resources or labor and employment law bookshelf for what promises to be a fantastic resource focusing on the intersection of social media and the workplace.

“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
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