Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit agrees with the Board that the use of profanity in a Facebook post was not “opprobrious enough” to lose the NLRA’s protections and justify the employer’s termination of the employee.
A server whose “conduct [sat] at the outer bounds of protected, union-related comments” when he posted that his manager is
Seyfarth Synopsis: Given the issues workplace texting presents for employers, employers would be wise to make clear in their policies what method of communication employees may use in the workplace for business purposes. If texting is allowed or tolerated in the workplace, employers need to review their policies relating to employee communication and record retention to
Continue Reading Are Your Employees Texting? The Risks To Employers In Taking Workplace Communications Offline
By Justine Turnbull and Shomaice Zowghi
Seyfarth Synopsis This great blog piece by our Australian colleagues about the rapidly emerging social media platform Snapchat also has particular relevance here in the United States. Check it out HERE to learn more.
Continue Reading Snapchat in the workplace: where’s it app?
By Howard Wexler, Esq. and Samuel Sverdlov, Esq.
Seyfarth Synopsis: An Administrative Law Judge held that an employer’s policy of prohibiting employees from conducting personal business at work, along with its social media and solicitation/distribution policies, violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).
In Casino Pauma, the NLRB’s General Counsel (“GC”) alleged that four of the employer’s handbook policies
Continue Reading NLRB Tells Employers to Mind their Own Business
Seyfarth Synopsis: This blog considers the blurring of the lines between personal and work-related communications which has created novel legal issues when it comes to determining whether an employer has the right to access and review all “work-related communications” made by its employees.
Over the last decade, communication via email and text has become a vital
Continue Reading Monitoring Employee Communications: A Brave New World
By Scott Rabe and Samuel Sverdlov
Seyfarth Synopsis: With seemingly every employee having access to a smart-phone or other recording device, employers without strong social media policies may be placing themselves at greater risk of creating workplace incidents that could be avoided.
Just a few weeks ago, a video leaked of Los Angeles Lakers rookie, D’Angelo Russell, recording teammate, Nick
Continue Reading Off the Record? Workplace Perils of Video Recording and Social Media
Employees’ social media activities often play a key role in workplace investigations.
For example, an employee may complain that a coworker sent a harassing Facebook message or posted something offensive on Twitter regarding race, religion, or disability. Employers handling investigations into such conduct should be aware that state laws may restrict employers’ requests for information about
Continue Reading Questions Remain About Social Media Privacy Rights During Workplace Investigations
By Robert B. Milligan and Daniel P. Hart
There is no denying that social media has transformed the way that companies conduct business. In light of the rapid evolution of social media, companies today face significant legal challenges on a variety of issues ranging from employee privacy and protected activity to data practices, identity theft, cybersecurity, and protection of intellectual
Continue Reading Social Media Privacy Legislation Desktop Reference: What Employers Need to Know
By Adam Vergne and Chuck Walters
Following a national trend, Montana and Virginia have become the nineteenth and twentieth states to enact laws restricting employer access to the social media accounts of applicants and employees.[1]
Virginia’s law, which takes effect on July 1, 2015, prohibits requesting (or requiring) the disclosure of usernames and/or passwords to an individual’s social media
Continue Reading Don’t Tweet On Me!
Picture this. You arrive at work only to be met by the employee who always seems to know everything about all that’s going on and that person hands you a copy of the “tweet” that another employee posted right before arriving at work this morning. The tweet reads: “Whoa, just ran someone over on my way
Continue Reading Wait…What Did He Say? (Or, What To Do When Your Employee’s Tweet Goes Viral)