Reprinted from a blog post of Phyllis Zimbler Miller as a National Internet Business Examiner.
A basic company Internet policy should make it very clear what an employee is and is not allowed to do online — both on and off company time.
The purpose of the company Internet policy is to protect the reputation of the company and control use of the Internet on company time.
This is an area of law that is still being developed, so it’s a good idea to consult with an attorney as to how to treat these issues in your employee manual:
- What limitations can you set on employees accessing the Internet for personal reasons during work hours?
- Do you have the right to stop employees talking about their jobs online?
- What obligations can you impose on employees to alert you to negative publicity about the company found online?
Although these areas of law are not yet well-defined, this is no reason to not have any policy. Better to have a basic policy rather than give your employees no standards and then be surprised when someone’s online behavior bites into your company’s reputation.
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