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Showing 27 posts in Internet & Media Law.

This Party is BYOD, Part Two

January 28, 2015
Posted In Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, Cloud, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law

The discussion in the last post focused on reasons for allowing BYOD in the work place and some traps to watch out for, which continues below. More >

This Party is BYOD, Part One

January 26, 2015
Posted In Bring Your Own Device, BYOD, Cloud, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law

The word you’re looking for is “ubiquity.” It describes the near-total assimilation of technology into every aspect of our lives. The words “cell phone” are falling by the wayside as the words “smart phone” take their place, and soon enough the word “phone” might be dropped altogether as a relic of a time when people used them primarily (and ever so quaintly) for actually talking to each other. These relatively recent smart devices are upending the traditional separations between work and home, with uncertain results. For some employers, “bring your own device” (“BYOD”) is considered a boon, allowing employees to stay connected to the workplace at all times through the comfort and convenience of their personal devices. For others, BYOD could be a nightmare, with IT advisory company Gartner calling it, cheekily, “a disruptive phenomenon where employees bring non-company IT into the organization and demand to be connected to everything – without proper accountability or oversight.”[1] Chances are good that the true answer might be a little bit of both as lines continue to blur across the wirelessly-connected workforce. Gartner estimates that as many as 90% of workplaces will have some aspect of BYOD in place by 2017. We’ll explore the reasoning behind BYOD and the pitfalls that can accompany it before delving into what makes for a strong BYOD policy. More >

Digital “Off-the-Record” Conversations?

March 3, 2014
Posted In Employee Handbook, Employee Misconduct, Employee Performance Reviews, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, Internet Defamation, Job Requirement, Online Account Protection, Online Defamation, Social Media, Social Media Policies

Employers and business professionals are no strangers to “off-the-record” conversations and closed-door meetings. In today’s world, though, many long for a way to converse online without a permanent record of the conversation existing somewhere out there in Internet-land. New apps have responded to this need; think Snapchat (the popular app that allows users to set a predetermined time for how long recipients can view their photos) for text messaging. TigerText, Wickr, and Confide are just some of the self-destructing text apps that have recently emerged. Businesses, however, should proceed with caution when using these – they could not only present an air of impropriety but also be a legal hazard. More >

Facebook Friends & Workplace Enemies

November 11, 2013
Posted In 2013), Employee Misconduct, Employment Law, Federal Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), Internet & Media Law, Litigation, Social Media, Social Media Policies, Social Privacy Laws

Inappropriate Facebook posts, pictures and the like have led to many firings in recent years. A large number of employees have become smarter on social media and made a concerted effort to not “friend” a manager or boss. They think that they are keeping their online persona and work reputation separate…but is that really possible when dealing with the Internet? More >

NLRB’s Advice Memorandum to Giant Foods LLC: A Giant Shock to Employers

September 4, 2013
Posted In Employee photographs, Freedom of Speech, Giant Food LLC, Internet & Media Law, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Social Media, Social Media Policies

On July 11, 2013, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) released a copy of the Advice Memorandum (find it here) issued for Giant Food LLC. The Advice Memorandum, originally issued in  2012, concludes that portions of Giant Food LLC’s social media policy violates the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). More >

Social Media & Emerging Employer Issues: Are You Protected?

June 25, 2013
Posted In Crisis Management, Defamation, Freedom of Speech, Internet & Media Law, Social Media, Social Media Ownership, Social Media Policies, Social Privacy Laws

On June 13, Business First and McBrayer sponsored their second Social Media Seminar. The seminar’s precedent, Social Media: Strategy and Implementation, was offered in 2012 and was hugely successful. This year’s proved to be no different. Presented by Amy D. Cubbage and Cynthia L. Effinger, the seminar focused on emerging social media issues for employers. If you missed it, you missed out! But don’t worry, a seminar recap is below and you can find a copy of the PowerPoint slides by clicking here.  More >

Another Facebook Case, Another Lesson Learned

By Jaron P. Blandford on April 29, 2013
Posted In Employment Law, Gatto v. United Airlines and allied Aviation Services, Hiring and Firing, Human Resource Department, Internet & Media Law, Litigation

There is no shortage of recent court rulings dealing with implications and consequences of social media. One of the latest comes from a New Jersey federal court and its holding should get employers’ attention. In Gatto v. United Airlines and Allied Aviation Servs., et al., No 10-CV-1090 (D.N.J., March 25, 2013), the plaintiff, Frank Gatto, was employed as a ground operations supervisor at John F. Kennedy Airport. He brought suit against United Airlines claiming that, while he was unloading baggage, a United Airlines aircraft caused a set of fueler stairs (owned by Allied Aviation) to crash into him. Gatto claimed that the resulting injuries rendered him permanently disabled. More >

Internet Defamation—What Can You Do When You Are the Target?

December 27, 2012
Posted In Communications Decency Act, Employment Law, Internet & Media Law, Internet Defamation, Social Media, Social Media Policies, Social Privacy Laws

We’ve all seen them.  Anonymous spewing hate-filled, defamatory statements on Facebook and Twitter, as well as in the comment pages of news stories on both local and national news.  The commenters have a certain entertainment value, until you or your business are in their sights.  So what do you do?  The answer is not always so simple, especially when you don’t even know who is speaking. More >

Will a Savings Clause Save Your Social Media Policy?

October 19, 2012
Posted In Employment Law, Internet & Media Law, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Social Media, Social Media Policies

Could a savings clause salvage an otherwise invalid social media policy? Maybe. There is no definitive answer to this question, as savings clauses have been portrayed as both a potential asset for employment handbooks and a non-factor in acting as a loophole for Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  Thus, it is important to view savings clauses as one tool in your arsenal and not as a panacea for an overly-broad social media policy. More >

NLRB and ALJ Decisions Continue to Refine Social Media Policy Parameters

October 17, 2012
Posted In Employment Law, Internet & Media Law, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Social Media, Social Media Policies

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)  judgments continue to refine the parameters of the social media policies landscape, offering more insight for employers who are developing policies and procedures that attempt to protect both the company and the employees. Two recent decisions by the NLRB illuminate the legality of social media policies or policies addressing any and all electronic communications. These decisions further set expectations of what is acceptable online behavior by employees, and more clearly define what an employer can and cannot restrict in the language of the policy. More >

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