On August 6, 2009, I wrote a Miller Mosaic blog post titled “Company Internet Policy: Do You Know What Your Employees Are Saying in Your Company Name?”
Although I suspect that almost three years later most companies do not yet have such policies, a June 2nd article in The Wall Street Journal by Ruth Mantell is a cautionary tale that should motivate companies to finally get such policies.
The article describes employees who have gotten in hot water for simply “liking” a Facebook Page. According to the article, a “U.S. district court in Virginia recently found that a sheriff’s office employee ‘liking’ a Facebook page was ‘insufficient speech to merit constitutional protection’.”
The article notes:
A growing number of companies are looking into creating social-media policies, says Gerald Maatman Jr., an employment lawyer in Chicago and New York. For employers, content and productivity are the main issues, he says.“There are lots of employers that are thinking about amending employee handbooks and termination protocols because now more and more employees are on Facebook at lunchtime — it’s water cooler conversation like never before,” Mr. Maatman says.
For the sake of your employees as well as your company, if you do not yet have a social media policy, get one now. The reputation and aggravation you save may be your own.
© 2012 Miller Mosaic LLC
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter and @ZimblerMiller on Pinterest) has an M. B.A. from The Wharton School and is the co-founder of the online marketing company Miller Mosaic LLC. She is also the author of nonfiction books and fiction books.
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