Technology: Not too narrow, not too broad. Social media policies must be “just right”
Nearly everyone uses some form of social media these days, and your employees are no exception.
October 12, 2012 at 05:00 AM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Nearly everyone uses some form of social media these days, and your employees are no exception. They are tweeting, friending and linking-in all the way from the stockroom to the boardroom, and in every office or cubicle in between. It therefore follows that your company should institute a social media policy to govern the appropriate scope of social media use amongst employees.
Every company should have a social media policy designed to protect the company from improper social media use by placing employees on notice of what they can and can't do when communicating on the Internet. Ideally, the policy should provide specific guidelines that are designed to protect the company's reputation, business relationships, trade secrets and intellectual property, as well as avoid liability associated with employees that post harassing, confidential, and/or other inappropriate material concerning other employees. An effective policy will provide employers with peace of mind that it has officially communicated what is a punishable or terminable offense in the event an employee misuses social media in violation of the policy. At the same time, employees will a have a clear understanding of what they can and can't do online, and therefore can use social media without fear of repercussion so long as they follow the guidelines set forth in the policy. Sounds simple, right?
But, there's just one problem (you knew this was coming). The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has adopted a strong stance against broad social media policies. Over the past few years, the NLRB has struck down numerous policies that it believes pose a threat to employees' right to engage in protected activities under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Broadly speaking, Section 7 of the NLRA protects “concerted activity,” which generally entails two or more employees acting together in support of matters of mutual interest, such as compensation, benefits, or workplace conditions. Social media policies may be held to violate Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA if it interferes with, restrains or coerces employees in the exercise of this right.
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