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Showing 59 posts from 2012.

Who owns your Twitter account?

September 13, 2012
Posted In Employment Law, Internet & Media Law, Internet Defamation, PhoneDog v. Kravitz, Social Media, Social Media Policies

As more and more employees are tasked with -- or even hired for the express purpose of -- tweeting on behalf of their employer, it is important to think about ownership of the twitter account from which they tweet.  A twitter account can be an important asset to a business or organization because the account (and the owner thereof) amasses followers who can become customers, fans and/or contributors.  Those followers can also share the marketing and informative content your company or organization chooses to share with others by re-tweeting, liking or quoting your tweets, or by old-fashioned word-of-mouth.  If they suddenly disappear, it may take significant time and effort to amass those followers again, and some you may never get back. More >

Employee Manuals – Updating is the Best Defense continued…..

By Jaron P. Blandford on September 7, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employee Personnel Files, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, Social Media, Social Media Policies

Rolling out policy changes appropriately is a necessary part of updating policies. A company can write and update its manual and have the most effective policies ever, but if they are not presented to the workforce in the proper way, policies are ineffective and just another stack of papers on everyone’s desk. Whatever your detailed course of roll-out, from individual meetings to a company-wide email, you have to go beyond announcing policy changes. Get written acknowledgements from every employee on every change. It is often common practice to issue updates and send out each policy change-by-change, like an addendum to the manual every few months. This is necessary to keep your employees aware of the changes occurring in the workplace policies. However, all those loose papers might get lost in the minutia of daily business and never actually make it into an employee’s manual. So the reality is employees may not be operating with an updated version of the manual. Re-issuing the employee manual in its entirety is the best policy to ensure that employees have the most up-to-date version; once a year should be sufficient, unless significant changes occur. This can be a mitigating factor in unemployment hearings – if an employee was terminated because of a policy violation and the employee had notice and acknowledged changes to the policies and procedures, the company generally has a better chance of justifying the termination for misconduct. More >

Employee Manuals – Updating is the Best Defense

By Jaron P. Blandford on September 5, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employee Personnel Files, Employment Law, Human Resource Department

An employer’s best defense to ever increasing employment claims is an employee manual, and more importantly an up-to-date manual.  If your company does not have a manual or has not updated its manual in several years, your company could be at risk.  Kentucky does not require that an employer have an employee manual.  However, the main advantage to issuing such a document is to create expectations and boundaries that are clear and consistent for your workplace. A good employee handbook goes further than merely outlining policies and procedures that pertain to conduct and safety in the workplace, it promotes positive employee relations. As well, adopting an employee manual substantially reduces the legal risks that often arise – especially surrounding discrimination, harassment or termination.  Even in an at-will state, a manual gives an employer more leverage with agencies, commissions and state boards who regulate employment concerns. A strong employee manual coupled with proper documentation of employee offenses safeguards against a “he said, she said” situation when serious issues arise. More >

Smartphones - 24/7 Access: When are employees off the clock?

August 31, 2012
Posted In Employee Performance Reviews, Employee Personnel Files, Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Human Resource Department, Wage and Hour, Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

With instant access to all things via smartphones and the internet, it has become increasingly easy for employees and employers to stay connected to work all the time. Smartphone access and being constantly connected is part of our professional make-up, and necessary to keep pace with the speed of the information highway. Right? Connectivity is firmly woven into everyday business practices but at what price? More >

After-hours Supervision Policies

August 29, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, National Labor Relations Act, Wage and Hour

Do you need to have a supervisor present when associates are working after hours or on the weekends? There is no law that requires that all work be supervised. So, it is perfectly legal and acceptable to have employee’s work after hours or on the weekends on company premises.  However, doing so raises some legal concerns. More >

Discrimination in the Workplace Continued….

August 24, 2012
Posted In Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA"), Hiring and Firing, Human Resource Department, Kentucky Civil Rights Act (“KCRA”), Labor and Pensions ("HELP"), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

Following up on our blog post from Wednesday, Progress for Transgender Employees Seeking Protection from Discrimination in the Workplace, the topic really isn’t so far removed from what is going on right in our own community.  In late July the Fayette County Board of Education updated the language of their anti-discrimination policy to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes.  The decision was approved unanimously and applies to students, teachers and school district employees. This adds Fayette County to the list of approximately six other public school districts that have specific prohibitions for these protected classes.  Gender discrimination is banned by all 174 public school districts in Kentucky. More >

Progress for Transgender Employees Seeking Protection from Discrimination in the Workplace

August 22, 2012
Posted In EEOC, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

Kentucky currently has no laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  However, since 1999 Louisville-Jefferson County and Lexington-Fayette County and Covington (in 2003) have had local ordinances banning discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations due to sexual orientation.  In June 2008, Governor Steve Beshear reinstated an Executive Order banning discrimination of state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  On April 23, 2012 the EEOC delivered a landmark ruling, in favor of protection against discrimination for transgender people working for the federal government.  With the introduction of HB 188/ SB 69 Statewide Fairness Act and the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act on the horizon, we are prompted to encourage every employer to give fairness policies and procedures a serious review. More >

Passwords, Privacy and Protection – The Social Networking Online Protection Act

August 17, 2012
Posted In Employee Personnel Files, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Hiring and Firing, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, Social Media, Social Media Policies, Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOP), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

The Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA) prohibits employers from requesting or requiring a potential candidate or employee to provide passwords for personal email, private accounts or social networking sites, while protecting said candidates and employees from repercussions of refusal to provide passwords.  Introduced in April 2012 by Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), after the pressure was turned up on the intersection of privacy and technology by an Associated Press report of a 2011 incident where an employer required access to an applicant’s Facebook account, the SNOPA attempts to draw a line in the sand on social media access. More >

The Slippery Slope of Social Media in Hiring

August 15, 2012
Posted In Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Hiring and Firing, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, Social Media, Social Media Policies, Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

In the age of the electronic workplace, technologies like email, cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging and the internet all make for a much more mobile and accessible workforce. The advantages of nearly unlimited access can be profound for companies, increasing efficiency and productivity. Working smarter includes hiring smarter. Human Resource Departments are usually on the forefront of the technology curve, understanding, using and regulating how a company interacts with the fast moving world of the web. One of the fastest growing concerns around the HR water cooler is social media.  How do we, as a company, use social media to our advantage? Beyond marketing, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have become one of the best ways to recruit new employees – a primary concern for HR. Sounds logical to research the candidates applying for new openings, using every means you have to insure the potential employee will fit into the company culture and become a productive member of the team.  It’s no different than checking references or running a background check, right?  Well, it is different.  With social media personal and professional lines are blurred. While information willingly submitted to the public domain is just that “public,” a general search through social media may reveal both factual and inaccurate information about a candidate. More >

Essentials for Social Media Policies: Surviving the NLRA

August 10, 2012
Posted In Employee Contracts, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Social Media, Social Media Policies

Developing a social media policy that will survive the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 151, et. seq. while still protecting the company is a primary focus of every employer. The key is providing specific definitions or guidance as to what an employer considers inappropriate social media activity which will be regulated and that the policy does not limit protected activity.  Policies cited by National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Acting General Counsel, Lafe Solomon issued in three reports aimed at providing employers guidance on what are and are not permissible social media policies under the NLRA include the following: More >

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