social media policy and guidelines

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SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Curt Montague Learning Technology Specialist, Butzel Long Social Media Strategist, Michigan Diversity Council Scott Patterson Labor and Employment Attorney, Butzel Long

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This presentation gives an overview of Social Media and some guidelines to help create a social media policy.

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Page 1: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY:

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Curt MontagueLearning Technology Specialist, Butzel Long

Social Media Strategist, Michigan Diversity Council

Scott PattersonLabor and Employment Attorney, Butzel Long

Page 2: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

TOPICS

What is Social Media?

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Who uses Social Media?

Social Media and the Workplace

Potential issues/benefits

Areas of Risk

Current Practices

Developing a Social Networking Policy

Page 3: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social Media and Social Networking have become synonymous. Social Networking as defined on Wikipedia, “is a social structure made of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.”

We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2)articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.

– A paper “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship” by Danah M. Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison

Page 4: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

FACEBOOK

Create a personal profile add other users as friends and exchange

messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile

Social Games Groups “Like” Privacy

Page 5: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

TWITTER

140 Hashtag

(#humanresources) Following Tweet DM RT @username Tweetup Shortened URLs

Page 6: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

LINKEDIN

Recruiting Networking Online Resume Twitter Blog Private Making

Connections

Page 7: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

HOW MANY PEOPLE REALLY USE SOCIAL

MEDIA?

Over 500,000,000 users

Over 75,000,000 users

Over 60,000,000 members

Over 1 Billion Views per day

Page 8: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

WHO IS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Page 9: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE WORKPLACE

Page 10: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

POTENTIAL ISSUES

Employee productivity

Blending of work and personal lives

Possibility for harassment and discrimination

“Too much information”

Page 11: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

POTENTIAL BENEFITS

Marketing/business development

Recruiting

Hiring

Investigatory tool

Increased communication among employees

Page 12: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

AREAS OF RISK

Hiring process

Use as a tool for harassment

Discrimination claims

Retaliation claims

Page 13: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE HIRING PROCESS

The internet and social networking sites can be a valuable source of information

It can also be a minefield of potential problems

You may use it, but be careful

Page 14: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE HIRING PROCESS

How accurate is the information?Do you even have the right person?

Much on social networking sites may not be what it appears

Exposure to information– Medical and health information– Disability status– Genetic information– Religion– Other lifestyle information

Page 15: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE HIRING PROCESS

Most employers have hiring practices which try to avoid coming into possession of this type of information prior to making a hiring decision.

Once the employer starts reviewing social networking sites, many of those protections can be lost.

It is not per se prohibited to review public social networking sites as part of the hiring process; however, employers must be aware of the risks and weigh them against the benefits.

Page 16: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE HIRING PROCESS

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

Prohibits employers from intentionally acquiring genetic information regarding employees

Social Networking sites can have a wealth of such information:

Content of postings Family history Group memberships

EEOC has proposed exception for publicly available information

Page 17: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING IN THE HIRING PROCESS

Fair Credit Reporting Actdefines a “consumer credit report” as “any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer’s creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living.”

The FCRA Requires That Employers:provide applicants with written notification that a consumer credit report may be used; and

obtain the applicant’s written authorization before requesting a report.

Investigation of online activity may be covered

Page 18: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Monitoring internet use at workEmployers have right to control and monitor employee internet use in the workplace

No expectation of privacy

There still are potential issuesEmployer could be exposed to information regarding protected status

Information gathered could be misused

Page 19: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Privacy IssuesElectronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 U.S.C. 2511 et seq.

Permits monitoring of oral and electronic communications as long as you can show legitimate business purposes.

The Stored Communication Act, 18 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.

Requires authorization from authorized user who has personal access to the site

This means you cannot access password protected information without permission

Page 20: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Invasion of PrivacyMost states, including Michigan, recognize a right to privacy relating to, among other things, a person’s seclusion, solitude, or private affairs.

The employee must show that:there is an intrusion into a matter about which he or she had a right of privacy

by a means or method that is objectionable to a reasonable person.

Page 21: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

“Public” postings are generally not considered private

But, what is public?Not everything on the internet is “public”

Some courts have held that if an internet posting has some access limit it may be considered private.

Examples: Surreptitiously “friending” an employee to gain

access to their site Using monitoring software to capture login

information

Page 22: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Social Networking and Union ActivitiesSection 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects “the right to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.”

Section 8 of the NLRA makes it an unfair labor practice for an employer “to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of ‘their Section 7 rights.’”

Page 23: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

The mere act of monitoring employees’ “concerted” activities may be enough to give rise to a Section 7 charge

Employers need to be extremely careful in viewing employees’ social networking sites, blogs, internet postings, etc. if they are unionized or as part of responding to union organizing activities

Page 24: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Off-duty conductGenerally, off-duty conduct is not protected

Legal exceptions: Protected activities or associations Public employees’ constitutional rights Some states protect off-duty conduct

Practical limits Nexus with the employee’s job duties Employee’s place in the organization

NOT

Page 25: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Unionized employees and off-duty conductlabor arbitrators take a very dim view of discipline for off-duty misconduct

In a union setting, the conduct must be very bad and have a very strong nexus to the employee’s job duties to support discipline or discharge

NOT

Page 26: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

SOCIAL MEDIA AT WORK

Other IssuesCompany spokesman appearance

FTC regulation of endorsements and testimonial in advertising

Supervisors “recommending” employees or otherwise saying nice things you may regret later

Release of confidential information Not always intentional or even obvious Competitive intelligence

NOT

Page 27: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

WHAT’S HAPPENING OUT THERE?

Misuses of social media by employeesWasting time at work

Sexual harassment

Interfacing with employees, customers or clients in an inappropriate manner

Posting trade secrets or information the company would like to keep confidential

Page 28: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

WHAT’S HAPPENING OUT THERE?

Uses of social media by employersIncreasing number of employers looking at the online presence of applicants

Not many claims or issues (yet)

Increasing adoption of social networking policies

Problem areas Supervisors being too friendly with subordinates Sexual harassment by supervisors and coworkers

Increasing view of Social Networking as a valuable tool rather than just a curse

Page 29: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

DEVELOPING A SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY

What do you want to accomplish?Ban all use at work

Allow some or all employees some personal use at work

Incorporate social networking into company marketing plans

Even if you ban use at work, social networking will inevitably come into the workplace so you still need a policy

Page 30: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY

Communicate to employees what use at work is acceptable.

Reminder that all the other company rules still apply. Guidelines on appropriate use of social networking

when interacting with fellow employees. Guidelines for interactions with third parties. Warning about harassment, discrimination and other

inappropriate behavior on social networking sites. Guidelines for use of social networking to advance

company business interests (if applicable). Warning regarding inadvertent or intentional

disclosure of confidential business information.

Page 31: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING POLICY

No “one size fits all” policy

Every business is different

You need to identify what you need and want

Be aware of the risks

Don’t be so scared you miss out on benefits

Page 32: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

RESOURCES

Sample Social Media Policies: http://www.compliancebuilding.com/about/publications/social-media-policies/

http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

http://laurelpapworth.com/enterprise-list-of-40-social-media-staff-guidelines/

Twitter Terminology:http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/learning

Page 33: Social Media Policy and Guidelines

QUESTIONS?