Social Media Policies: What Every Company Should Have in Their Handbooks to Avoid Potential Legal Issues

Social Media Policies Webinar Recording

A hot topic of debate lately has been over employers asking job seekers to turn over their Facebook passwords as part of the interview process. The Maryland Department of Corrections even asked job candidates to browse through their profiles in front of hiring managers. Is this just part of a pre-employment background check or is it crossing the line to an all-out invasion of privacy? If requesting a password is too much, to what extent are you allowed to monitor an employee's social media presence without creating an invasion of privacy claim?

With the number of Facebook users reaching 800 million and blogs, Tweets, and status updates becoming a part of daily life, HR managers find themselves asking these questions and more as they try to create effective policies that respect employees’ privacy while still keeping the organization productive and in compliance.

So what should your social media policy include? 

Participate in this interactive webinar, and in just 90 minutes, you'll learn:

• Why you need a social media policy and how the lack of an effective policy can damage your business
• Types of legal claims you could be subjected to if you don’t have a comprehensive, well-drafted social media policy in place
• The three key questions you should answer before writing your social media policy
• Tips for drafting your social media policy and what should be included, such as if employees are allowed to use social media during working hours and how employees can use the corporate brand on social networking sites
• Who and what the social media policy should cover
• What you need to know about litigation holds as they relate to your social media policy
• What your policy should say about employees’ obligations to maintain confidentiality and your organization’s trade secrets
• How to incorporate your social media policy into other anti-harassment and antidiscrimination policies you may already have in place
• What constitutes a "protected concerted activity" under the NLRA and recent guidance from the NLRB regarding social media policies
• How to ensure that employees’ are properly apprised of your social media policy and periodic policy updates
• And much, much more

In just 90 minutes, you'll learn how to draft and implement a social media policy that will help keep your employees productive and your organization on the right side of the law. Register now for this informative and timely event risk-free.

This webinar was recorded on Thursday, June 21, 2012

Social Media Policies: What Every Company Should Have in Their Handbooks to Avoid Potential Legal Issues

About Your Speakers:

Attorney Jeffrey Schultz is a business and commercial litigator and chair of the social media practice group at Armstrong Teasdale. Much of his practice focuses on counseling individuals and organizations through complex disputes involving the misappropriation of trade secrets, computer tampering, non-disclosure agreements, non-compete agreements, commercial contracts, and social networking law.

Attorney John Vering leads the employment and labor law practice group in the Kansas City office of Armstrong Teasdale. A strong litigator, he works with both local and national organizations in a wide array of industries on a wide variety of employment lawsuits and business disputes. Mr. Vering also serves as an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association.