Employers may think that because they do not have a formal social media program that they do not need to worry about their online presence.
Whether you choose to actively participate or not, you need to be aware of what is being said about your company and what your employees are doing online, says Lori Clary, of counsel at McDonald Hopkins LLC.
“Employers need to be cognizant of social media because, whether they decide to use it affirmatively or not, it’s likely that many of their employees — not to mention competitors — are utilizing it. A company’s reputation is potentially being impacted by social media regardless of whether the company is doing anything with it or not.”
Smart Business spoke with Clary about the benefits and risks of social media and how to create an effective social media policy.
What would you say to a company that says social media does not impact it?
It may not have impacted you before because its exponential growth has occurred only in the past few years; so it is not surprising you have not yet had to address issues presented by social media. But even though social media may not have affected you yet, it is eventually going to impact you in some way, shape or form. You can either deal with it in a proactive manner by looking at the situation and its potential legal implications now, or be reactive later once problems arise.
What issues can arise for employers regarding social media?
There are a host of employment law matters and traditional labor law matters. For example, if you are using social media to recruit and screen potential employees, you may be privy to information you could not necessarily ask for on an application, which can get you into trouble under anti-discrimination laws. Another area with respect to employees’ rights falls under the National Labor Relations Act. Employees have certain rights to engage in what is called protected concerted activity and, as an employer, if you try to quash that type of discussion, you can find yourself on the wrong side of the National Labor Relations Board.
