Should your handbook have a MySpace clause?
November 6, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Employees do the strangest things, Here comes the judge, Special Report
HR pros have enough to do without worrying about what employees are putting on their MySpace pages. But when social networking Web sites intersect with the work world, it’s a different story.
A federal court has thrown out a teacher’s lawsuit against his former employer that claimed the school district retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment rights on his MySpace page.
The teacher created a MySpace page that he used to communicate with students about homework. He claimed casual conversations he had with students on the Web site allowed him to better relate to students.
Web page had more than homework tips
But there was a problem: School officials asked him to shut down the site after allegedly finding pictures of naked men on it and concluding that the teacher had used the site to conduct inappropriate conversations with students.
Instead of closing the account, the teacher created a new page.
The district suspended the teacher and refused to renew his contract for the following year.
That’s when he sued, noting that he’d used his Web page to express his opposition to the Iraq War.
The court threw out the lawsuit saying there was no causal relationship between his post about the war and the district’s decision not to renew his contract.
The court also noted that:
- it wasn’t unreasonable for the school district to find the teacher’s conduct on the MySpace page to be disruptive to school activities, and
- the teacher couldn’t show that the district had violated his freedom of association right because “there is no evidence in the present case that MySpace, as an organization, purports to speak out on matters of public concern.”
Does your company have a policy about employees’ social networking Web sites? Let us know what you think about this case and companies’ need for such Web policies today in the Comments Box below.
Spanierman v. Hughes, U.S. Dist. Crt. CT, No. 3:06CV01196, 9/16/08.
November 7th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I recently read about a teacher who was posting inappropriate items on his MySpace page knowing that his students were going there … this did cause me to add a policy regarding social networking sites to our Handbook, which I was conveniently reviewing and updating anyway!
It is especially inportant to let younger, less experienced staff know the possible ramifications of these sites. It may not affect them now, but in the future it could… wise for them to have that in mind…
November 7th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Regulating employees extra-curricular activities is a bit extreme.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I just read the article “Should your handbook have a MySpace clause?” and was reminded of a recent issue with an employee in my organization who was obviously posting inappropriate remarks to the wife of a fellow worker (this employee was supposedly romantically interested in this fellow employee). I think the main problem with MySpace is as Wendy’s comment says: even though it is in your off-time (hopefully) anyone can find you and associate your conduct on the web with your employer. It is always best policy to try and remain above reproach in these type of situations….
November 7th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I am an HR manager at a treatment facility and a couple of years ago, when myspace started, we had an issue where a counselor had inappropriate pictures of him/herself with alcohol and our clients found him/her on myspace. this counselor was no longer effective with our clients treatment (practice what you preach mentality and being a role model) and that is when it came time to write a policy. It was a challenge, since we now have personal lives crossing over to professional lives, but something had to be done. So, our policy simply informs our employees that if they have a myspace page we suggest it be marked invite only or private or that they ensure the contents are appropriate adn professional. It also states that if anything is reported to us then we reserve the right to view the site with the employee present. the employee signs off on this policy directly in agreement with the terms. It is a touchy situation as we want to protect our employees as well as provide effective treatment to our clients. so far we have had no further incidents. i would suggest to any company to be very careful in the wording of these policies and ensure you are still respecting the rights of employees.
November 7th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
It seems to me that if a handbook or policy clearly defines what is “inappropriate” for employees to communicate, then whether they communicate it via a face to face meeting, on “MySpace” or “FaceBook”, via email, etc. should not matter.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:19 am
All activity on Company Owned Computors, Cell Phones, Faxes, Web Page Visitations, Scanners, and any other devices must all be realted and have time Invoiced to a Client for which you are working.
No personal activity is allowed including games, My Space Web Pages and etc. Those wish to challege Management Directives will be permatley replaced with those who want to work for their wages, saleries and benefit packages.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Thanks for the information.
November 17th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I just had this discussion with my marketing/pr director. I am looking for sample policies on this topic. I agree with Mike.
Larry, I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. You are talking about work equipment. What about the employee who blogs at home on their own computer about work issues?
November 24th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Hi all! An important point is being missed here… I’m assuming this teacher is considered a public sector employer, which is why he sued for violation of his First Amendment / Freedom of Speech rights. These rules do not apply to private sector employers. Private sector employees do not have first amendment protections and their employment can be terminated for things done on their own time.
Of course, just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean that it is ethical. I agree that what we do on our own time should be our own business – most of the time. I do agree with terminating the employment relationship if what we do on our own time negatively effects the business. I had a sales rep with her own pornographic website. She did it on her own time, never used company equipment or other resources, so she didn’t violate any of our policies. However, our attorney said we could terminate her employment anyway because she was our representative in the community and that obviously wasn’t the type of image we wanted to portray.
Finally, I’m a little suprised the individual didn’t also sue for invasion of privacy. Ohio, and I’m guessing many other states, recognize a basic right to privacy. This is a growing issue with sites like MySpace, FaceBook, UTube, and other blogs. So, I really like T’s response that includes the company’s right to review the information if they receive reports of inappropriate content. Thanks for sharing!