Social Media in the Workplace: what is yours and what is theirs?
The proliferation of social media has now extended into the business world. It is common practice for corporations to connect with consumers through Facebook, Twitter, and other cyber-media channels. While social media represents the most modern form of promotion and advertising, its explosive growth has left employers and employees with many heretofore unimagined policy challenges. If an employee has accrued many followers or friends while posting on behalf of the company, what happens to the account after the employee leaves the company? If an employee has a social media presence on behalf of the company, how can the company manage the content posted by the employee? In order to enjoy the advantages of modern social media channels, corporations need to be prepared with equally modern policy. Here’s a quick introduction to handling social media related policy challenges:
- Specify that the social media account belongs to the company, and that upon termination of employment the employee forfeits al l access to the account.
- Passwords are considered confidential proprietary information. Be clear that passwords cannot be changed without explicit direction to do so.
- Corporate policy restricting the content employees may post on social media sites must be carefully framed. It is ok to protect confidential information,but recent National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) guidance memos indicate that too much restriction may constitute a violation of employees’ right to discuss terms and conditions of employment.
- A prospective house bill would prohibit employers from requiring current and prospective employees to disclose social media passwords.
- Social media offers the opportunity for corporations to connect with consumers and the public on an individual basis, and is particularly effective in targeting the young and computer literate demographic. While each company is unique, a social media presence is a logical practice is this digital age.
- If you have questions about your company’s policies, contact Rice Law Office today.
