There can be no doubt that social media has become an increasingly powerful force. Within the last year, governments have toppled due to demonstrations organized through Facebook, a TV celebrity lost his lucrative sit-com role based upon his ranting on Twitter, and a congressman had no choice but to resign from office after inadvertently disclosing private photographs on Twitter.
Social media can have an equally significant impact on employers — including when their employees publicly post disparaging or otherwise embarrassing comments about them; disclose their confidential information; threaten or harass others; or otherwise engage in undesirable conduct. Despite the widespread use of social media, most employers have yet to implement policies governing their employees’ online activity, and evolving case law thwarting employers’ attempts to hold employees accountable for their social media use has left employers unsure of the proper course of action. To make the issue even more challenging, simply blocking employee access to social media at work does little to solve the problem since most offending conduct takes place during nonwork time and on employees’ own equipment.
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