Transcript March 2010 CLE Workshop: Web 2.0: Employee Use of the Internet

Employee Use of the Internet and
Social Media:
Problems, Policies and Best
Practices in Managing Web 2.0
Challenges in 2010
Presented by:
NACUA 2009
Richard A. Paul, Esq.
Margaret Wu, Esq.
Cheryl Smith, Esq., Moderator
Privacy: Not one right, but many
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Constitutional
Common law tort
Statutory
Contractual
Emerging implied doctrines
Common-law and Statutory
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Tort protections
• The four types of invasion of privacy
• Other torts (defamation, IIED, NIED, WTPP)
Statutory protections
• Informational privacy (personnel, medical,
investigatory, student, trade secret, computer)
• Investigative privacy (testing, monitoring,
surveillance)
Monitoring and Surveillance
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The three main areas
• Non-electronic physical surveillance
• Web 1.0 era electronic surveillance
• Web 2.0 era electronic surveillance
Rights and duties to be considered in the balance:
• Employer rights and privileges
• Employer duties
• Employee rights and privileges
• Employee duties
Web 1.0 Electronic monitoring of
employees in the workplace
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Polygraphs, lie detectors and voice-stress analyzers
Eavesdropping on telephone communications
GPS and tracking devices
Workplace video monitoring
Workplace audio monitoring
Voicemail access and monitoring
Email monitoring
Text message monitoring
Internet access monitoring
Web 2.0 Concerns/Rights – Blogs,
Social Networking Sites, Others
Keeping up with a rapidly changing world . . .
Web 2.0 Work-related Interactive
Technologies
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Blogs
Forums
Social Networking Sites
Wikis
Virtual Communities
Podcasts and Twittering
Multiple use platforms (PDA’s)
Web 2.0 and Employee Selection
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Searching for internet information
Tales of being “Dooced”
Screening the information—is this
“asking” or “listening?”
Using Web 2.0 Information in
Employee Selection
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Five suggestions:
 Is it protected?
 Is it relevant?
 Is it accurate?
 Is it current?
 Is it obligatory?
Is It or Isn’t It?:
During Employment
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Venting feelings:
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Protected speech or violent threat?
Defamation or free speech?
Violations of privacy
Anti-employer blogspeak
Harassment on blogs, SNS’s or anonymous
sites
Is It or Isn’t It? (continued) . . .
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Talking out of school:
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Trade secret disclosures
Proprietary and financial data
Personnel and medical data
Merely embarrassing data
Web 2.0 Policies Do you need one?
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General computer use policies
• Use of University resources
• University monitoring or review
• General computer “ethics”/acceptable use
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Incorporate other existing policies
• Employee/faculty codes of conduct
• Privacy
• IP rights
Web 2.0 Policies
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Policies for Employees Conducting University
Business
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Identify the speaker
Define expected professional tone
Accurate content
IP rights
Privacy rights
Web 2.0 Policies
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Policies for Posting to University Sites and
Blogs
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Facebook or other “host” policies
Employee/faculty codes of conduct
Retain right to remove inappropriate content
Privacy, IP rights
Disclaimers
Web 2.0 Policies
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Policies for Personal Use
• May be constitutional or other legal restrictions on
controlling personal use
• Common sense reminders
• Privacy, IP rights
• Disclaimers
• Use of University resources
• Otherwise applicable employee/faculty codes of
conduct
Questions and Answers
Thank you!