Comments on: Should your handbook have a MySpace clause?

By: HR in Ohio

HR in Ohio — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:27:19 +0000

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!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:38:44 +0000

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?

By: Gladys

Gladys — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:03:23 +0000

Thanks for the information.

By: Larry W. Smith

Larry W. Smith — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:19:42 +0000

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.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:10:26 +0000

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.

By: T

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:08:55 +0000

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.

By: HL

HL — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:07:15 +0000

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….

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:04:48 +0000

Regulating employees extra-curricular activities is a bit extreme.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:10:03 +0000

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…