Social Networking and Some Employment Law Snafus (Part 2)

     In this article, we try “round two” of stumping the HR person!  That is to say -- let’s take a look at a few additional employment-related social networking challenges, and how an HR person (or supervisor) might best respond.

1.     Management allows some online posting during work hours, but notice one employee who averages 100 Tweets per day on Twitter.

Does it matter if it is part of their job to post Tweet updates?  How many posts are too many, is the question!?

A reasonable course of action by any standard, would be to warn the employee of the excessive number of posts.  Thereafter, it needs to be determined whose function it is to monitor such media outreaches – HR? Corporate Communications? IT? – which may depend on resources.  Larger employers may consider having a media department that would oversee such outflow.  Tweets can positively impact business! 

One Wall St. Journal article noted that the number of Tweets regarding a movie release does affect the numbers at the box office!

2.      You receive a phone call saying one of your employees has been posting derogatory comments on her ex-husband’s blog.

Does it matter how high-profile the employee or ex-spouse are?  What about whether it was posted during work hours or whether it depicts a company uniform or logo?

Ask for evidence of the postings!  (Such as a print out of the posting.)  Certainly one would need to determine whether or to what extend the company was identified within the post, and whether it was posted during work hours, and warn accordingly.

3.      What if you WANT your employees to help grow your business through social networking??

Are you going to want to require that employees join a social networking site?

A good solution for this may be to identify which sites would be acceptable for business purposes, (some favor Linked-In, for example).  You will need to decide if such postings are mandatory (in which case, you need to be prepared to pay for this time), or optional (in which case, you need to decide if work time can be allotted for this).  In any event, some guidelines ought best be established regarding content, and all postings should be monitored. 

Some employers are finding ways to block social networking, although that can turn away employees as well!  Why not have a separate business page from personal, on those sites that allow it?!

Continue your feedback…we may have a social networking and employment law snafu, part 3 at some later time! 

The archeological deposit of trillions of data rats

Here we go again! The use of Social Security numbers for every random, routine activity has left an archeological deposit of trillions of data rats nests scattered all over the landscape of the United States.

Until a few years ago professors at a major US University reported that they had to fill out a new form every semester with all their info INCLUDING SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER to obtain an activated key so they could access the multimedia cabinet in their classrooms. Most of these forms were faxed top the office where this was done and were stuck in cabinet somewhere.

The announcement of the data breach below follows the industry standard phrase “We want to assure you that there is no evidence that the computer intruder accessed the files containing Social Security numbers.” Usually the lawyers also add “There is no evidence that any of the information has been used in any identity thefts.”

All we can say is “Yeah, right!”

Here is the latest case study for you to study.

DATE: Dec. 11, 2007

TO WHOM? Iowa State University Faculty and Staff:

WHAT? “A security breach recently was discovered on a server in the Office of
Sponsored Programs Administration. Old files found on that server contained the names and Social Security numbers of approximately 2,900 faculty and staff who submitted proposals through the OSPA GoldSheet process prior to Jan. 1, 2006.

“We want to assure you that there's no evidence that the computer intruder accessed the files containing Social Security numbers. Our technical experts believe the primary motive was to store movies and hacker-related software.”

Two servers at OSPA were breached by the intruder, but only one computer contained files with Social Security numbers. The security breach was reported to Information Technology Services staff on Monday, Nov. 26. The server had already been removed from the campus network. A thorough examination of the server over several days yielded files containing names and SSNs.

Over the past couple of years, Social Security numbers have been removed from all central systems and business processes, except where the SSN is required. This incident points to the urgency to inspect old files and remove Social Security numbers that once were a routine part of university reports. If you need assistance in finding protected information on your computer or would like to know more about securing your computer, please contact …………., ITS security.

We regret any inconvenience or distress this security breach may cause.
We do not think it is likely your information was accessed, but if you are concerned, please see the resources below.

If you have concerns or comments on this security incident, please feel
free to contact either of us.
Michael McCoy @ insurancenow@hotmail.com
Dr. Steffen Schmidt @ steffenschmidt2005@gmail.com

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

What should I do if I am concerned about possible identity theft?

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit report. This tells creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making changes to current accounts. The Federal Trade Commission offers more information on how to place a fraud alert at http://consumer.gov/idtheft

2. Get a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus
(Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and make sure all accounts on that report belong to you. You're entitled to a free annual credit report from the three major credit bureaus. See: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/