Women in Labor

I do it. You do it. It seems like most everyone is doing it. Aided by laptops, blackberries and iPhones, social networking is taking place at almost any time and almost everywhere. Indeed, Facebook and Twitter could be two of the most popular mediums of communication nowadays and are being used by individuals both inside and outside of the workplace. Even if you’re not tweeting yet, many of your employees are and, because of that, you need to know how your company should address this phenomenon.

In the business world, employees use of social networking websites carry with it both pluses and minuses for the company. On the plus side, social networking can be a great (and cheap) marketing tool for your company. On the minus side, social networking could expose the company to a variety of potential legal claims.

Over the last ten years or so, employers have grown to recognize the need for implementing strong electronic communication policies to address how employees can and cannot use the company computer system. But many employers have not yet recognized the need for implementing policies addressing the use of social networking websites despite the large number of people utilizing them. Some employers failure to have such a policy could be a sign that they are lagging behind the times. Some may just be hesitant about limiting employee speech, especially if it is occurring outside of the workplace, and others may not know where to begin. Whatever the reason may be, if your business does not have a policy addressing social networking, it could spell all kinds of trouble for you down the road. Indeed, employees may post embarrassing or potentially harassing pictures on their social networking page. Or, they may post derogatory comments about the company or their co-workers or about someone’s race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Such comments may then make their way back into the workplace and cause discord. Additionally, employees may disclose information about your company that is confidential or detrimental.

Because social networking is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, you need to have a policy addressing it. Firstly, such a policy should address whether employees are permitted to access any social networking websites in the workplace. Secondly, it should address whether employees are permitted to access them outside of the workplace. In fact, some employers, such as the United States Marines, have banned recruits from using any social networking sites both inside and outside the workplace.

In addition, a social networking policy should address whether supervisors are permitted to friend subordinates or peers are permitted to friend peers on Facebook and Myspace and whether they can follow one another on Twitter. Such a policy should also restrict the transmission of confidential customer or other company information, including trade secrets or proprietary information and restrict the use of the company logo or service mark on these sites. The policy should also restrict non-exempt workers from using social networking sites to benefit the company as such time, if not compensated, may violate wage/hour laws. Further, the policy should impose disciplinary measures for any violations.