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EMPLOYMENT LAW BULLETIN
Vol. 05, No. 8
Courtesy of ESKRIDGE LAW
Do you know about the potential effects of employee blogging? Blogging, which is a term used for writing on web logs or chat rooms, can pose serious risks to your company when employees post job frustrations, confidential company data, or disparaging information about a supervisor. While you cannot control lawful employee criticism over the computer during employees' off-time, you can create a written policy to regulate how employees use the computer while they're at work. Here are some things your policy should include to help prevent and handle blogging problems:
- Define permitted uses. You can formulate a strict policy which limits acceptable computer use to work-related tasks only, or, you can create a more flexible policy which restricts how much time employees are allowed to spend on the computer for personal use.
- Address outside computer use. Make it clear to your employees they cannot post information that violates trade secrets or confidentiality agreements, whether from work or from home.
- Prohibit harassment. Absolutely forbid posting racially or sexually offensive messages.
- Limit privacy expectations. Explain that all messages sent and retrieved over the internet are company property. Explain the circumstances under which you will monitor employee e-mail or Internet use.
- Restrict unauthorized downloading. Forbid retrieving, downloading, storing, or sending pornography. Explain that copyright laws prohibit file-sharing.
- Specify penalties. State that violations will subject the employee to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Publicize your policy. Distribute your policy to all of your employees and have them sign an acknowledgment that they have read, understood, and agreed to abide by it. Make the policy a part of any computer training you provide, and consider posting an electronic reminder that appears whenever employees log on.
Think twice. If a blogging problem arises, talk to your employee about it first, explain why the activities are harmful to your business, and ask them to stop. Assess whether any disciplinary actions that you may take could be construed as discrimination or retaliation. Make sure that you are not violating the employee's free speech rights or his/her rights under the federal or state labor laws.
Practice what you preach. Make sure you do not forward e-mail jokes (even good clean ones) to employees, as this sends a message that it is okay to use the company computers for joking around. Also, exchanging good clean jokes can escalate to the exchange of dirty and/or offensive jokes.
ESKRIDGE LAW may now be contacted by phone (310/303-3951), by fax (310/303-3952), or by e-mail (geskridge@eskridgelaw.net.) Please visit our website at www.eskridgelaw.net or www.employmentattorneys.net.
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