Experts Offer Advice On Social Media Policies
Anyone out there still willing to claim that social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just passing fads?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Let’s face it, social media is here to stay. Now, in 10 years, will the go-to site still be Facebook? I don’t know.
But sites that allow people to connect and share ideas in a semi-public fashion are here to stay and changing the way we interact and do business.
Even if you don’t need to update a Twitter feed as part of your job, someone at your company is likely using that site. And if they decide to share some confidential information about a new contract your company landed on Facebook, what recourse do you have to discipline or terminate the employee?
Very little, if you have no policy in place. Which is why those in the HR and legal fields have been scrambling in recent months to get such policies established.
A Starting Point
A social media policy doesn’t have to be too complicated. And there are a number of templates floating around on the Internet to help get you started.
There are also plenty of lawyers boning up on the subject and giving talks on what a social media policy should include. One of those local lawyers is Joseph T. Bartulis, a partner at the Worcester-based law firm of Fletcher Tilton.
He’s been making the rounds on the topic of social media policies and has developed a list of key ingredients that he shared with me.
Here are some of the topics that he told me a social media policy should include:
• a clear statement that if an employee misuses social media and/or violates the social media policy, he or she will be subject to discipline, which could include termination.
• a description of the misuses of social media. This section might refer the employee back to existing sections of the employee handbook on the handling of confidential company information.
• a prohibition of the use of any company logos or the company name on any social media sites.
• a prohibition of the use of social media sites during work hours unless the person’s job requires it.
• a prohibition of using a corporate email as the login for personal social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. (Bartulis acknowledges that a corporate email likely makes sense for a business-related social media site like LinkedIn).
• a note that the employee cannot violate other company policies on social media sites. For example, sexually harassing a co-worker via Facebook is grounds for termination, just like sexually harassing an employee at the water cooler.
Some companies may take or leave any of Bartulis’ suggestions, but they are a good starting point, and will likely get you thinking. In particular, the issue of the company logo is an interesting one.
What if your employee is captured in a Facebook photo sporting a T-shirt with your company’s logo prominently displayed whilst indulging in an illegal substance? Would you want to discipline that employee?
That’s the kind of question you’ll want to think through as you draft your policy.
One key fact to remember when it comes to social media is that some types of speech are protected under the National Labor Relations Act, according to Michael Leahy, an associate at the Springfield-based law firm of Skoler, Abbott & Presser, which also has an office in Worcester.
While the NLRA is often associated with unions, it applies to all employees, regardless of whether they are part of a union or not.
So if a company fires an employee for writing on his Facebook page that his co-workers are nitwits and his company abuses its staff, that employee may have a case under NLRA to fight the termination.
“What’s going to be protected [under NLRA] are comments related to the terms and conditions of your employment,” Leahy said, adding that the comments can be “rude, or frankly offensive,” and still not be legal grounds for firing someone.
Leahy said there have been several cases before the National Labor Relations Board around social media issues of late, so companies should tread carefully and call a lawyer, even if it’s just for five minutes, to make sure they are on firm legal ground before terminating someone who misbehaves on a site like Facebook.
Putting the legal issues aside, it’s also important to remember to treat employees “like adults, with respect and professionalism,” says Tracy Burns-Martin, executive director of the Waltham-based Northeast Human Resources Association.
“Granted, we all have our own filter of what’s respectful and professional, but at the end of the day we can all agree on some core things,” she said.
And the things that we all agree on when it comes to behavior should not only be reflected in a policy, but should also be part of the company’s overall culture and philosophy, she said.
Burns-Martin also advised that a policy shouldn’t be so tightly written that it completely squashes social media use by employees to share positive stories about a company.
Social media sites “can be very powerful if used correctly,” she said.
Got news for our Digital Diva column?
E-mail Christina H. Davis at cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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