Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

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Earlier this week, the internet was all a buzz with the news that an employer had settled with a former employee it fired for criticizing a supervisor on Facebook.

If you think that this settlement signals that employers are powerless to discipline employees who criticize their employers online, think again. Just ask a Philadelphia-area teacher who got tagged for criticizing her students on her personal blog.

More on this story and what it means for employers, after the jump.

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A company accused of violating federal law for firing an employee for comments she made on Facebook about her supervisor has settled.

How does this settlement affect how your company can control employee engagement in social networking activities? The answer, after the jump.

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You operate a company that provides mall security. And one of your security guards posts a video on YouTube of a female mall employee falling into a fountain while she is texting.

You should already have a social media policy. But, even if you don’t, you know what to do, right? I know. How can you answer that question without watching the video first? 

Video and more after the jump.

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By now, hopefully, you’ve read my post “How Facebook Can Make Or Break Your Case.” I wrote it primarily for my fellow members of the defense bar. So, if you haven’t yet read it, and you generally represent employers, shame on you! Stop reading this and go read it now. RIGHT NOW!

Otherwise, keep reading this post to see what plaintiffs’ lawyers
should be doing with social media to help advance their clients cases.

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sonicreceipt.jpgIf you know me, you know that I am a BIG advocate of social media policies for employers. I’ve written about it here. And I’ve spoken both to clients and at global conferences on the subject.

If you have not adopted a social media policy yet, check out this story by The Consumerist. It’s a sobering read about how important it is to educate employees about appropriate online behavior.

No, the title to this post isn’t gratuitous. Morran’s story involves an employee advertising hookers. The receipt to the right just may have given that away.

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Even without theNational Labor Relations Board may decide cases in a way that enhances the union’s ability to organize a workforce. The the Board may also place additional limits on employer speech rights and attempt to give union organizers access to an employer’s workplace.

But even without direct, on-site access to employees, unions have smartly taken advantage of social media and, as a result, have many new effective organizing tactics, as demonstrated in this YouTube video (after the jump)…
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I was reading an article in the Gwinnett Daily Post — yeah, that’s right, the GDP — and it starts out like this…

BUFORD — When Buford City Schools bus driver Michele Threlkeld finished her final route on the last day of school, she reported to her supervisor’s office, as was routine.

I love reading articles that start this way, because you know that fireworks and lawsuits are going to ensue. So, cue the fireworks and lawsuits…after the jump.
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At the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, Daniel Schwartz wrote a two-part piece about a Connecticut school superintendent who was forced to resign after making some lighthearted remarks on Facebook. The comment that appears to have gotten the superintendent in the most trouble was this one referring to a personnel matter:

(After the jump…)

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A few weeks ago, I came across an article by Terrence O’Brien on switched.com, “Facebook ‘Subscribe to’ Feature Lets You Follow Your Friend’s Every Move.”

Facebook is testing a new feature that lets you subscribe to a specific user’s content. In practice, this means receiving a notification every time that user updates their status, posts a new photo, link, video or note, and Mashable aptly dubs it the ‘Stalker Button.’ Taken at face value, this would appear to be a direct answer to the ability to “follow” a user on Twitter…

after the jump…

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