By Porter Wright on The recent case of Jefferson Audio Video Sys. Inc. v. Light, (W.D. Ky. May 8, 2013) demonstrates how the updating of a LinkedIn profile can become a concern for employers, particularly as it pertains to an employer's former employees.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Our colleagues over at Technology Law Source advise today of an interesting case in which a New Jersey federal court held that a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit failed to preserve relevant evidence when he deactivated his Facebook account and failed to reactivate it within fourteen (14) days - which according to Facebook's terms and conditions renders the account's contents irretrievable.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on The infamous LinkedIn ownership case, Eagle v. Edcomm, is over, and for the plaintiff, Dr. Linda Eagle, it was a win and a loss. We told you about this case in the post: "In the Social Media Battle Over Who Owns a LinkedIn Account, the Greatest Threat is State Law Claims - How Employers Can Protect Themselves in Light of Eagle v. Morgan as 11 State Law Claims Proceed to Trial." The case did go to trial, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania decided that while Dr. Eagle proved three claims against her former employer, Edcomm, she was not entitled to any monetary damages because she failed to prove any damages with reasonable certainty.… Continue Reading
By Jay Yurkiw on Describing it as a “rather novel issue,” a federal court recently held that a former employee’s public posts on his personal Facebook page did not constitute solicitation of his former co-workers under the terms of his non-solicitation agreement with his former employer. [See Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. v. Cahill, No. 12-CV-346, Doc. 31 (Jan. 22, … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As noted in a recent blog and in the news report mentioned from last week, 21 states have social media privacy legislation pending. But, social media privacy could soon be governed by an act of Congress.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Naked pictures? Drunken celebrations? Sexist comments? A click of a button and all evidence of your “Weekend at Bernie’s” can disappear. Job seekers know to scrub clean their Facebook pages before they connect with potential employers, to remove all trace of their off-color on-line life. But here in Ohio you can’t delete your way out … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on According to a news release issued by the university, a Kansas State University study to be published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior concludes that between 60 and 80% of the time spent by people on the internet at work has "nothing to do with work." The study, which was profiled this morning on The … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on The Internet is burning up this morning with the story of an Applebee’s waitress who was fired for posting on Reddit, a social news and entertainment site, the receipt from a customer who gave her no tip on a $35.00 check, writing "I give God 10% why do you get 18?" Unfortunately, the waitress did … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on The summary judgment decision issued on October 31st by Ohio federal district court judge David Dowd in Barnett v. Aultman Hospital contains important reminders for both private employers and their employees. For employers, there is the reminder that they are not bound by the First Amendment's protections for free speech. And for employees: Always remember to confirm that your supervisor actually has been fired before going to Facebook to celebrate.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on As we told reminded you last month here, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), the agency that has enforcement responsibility over the Fair Credit Report Act ("Act"), revised the forms which employers must use to comply with the FCRA, effective January 1, 2013. There was only one little problem with the forms the CFPB provided for use: They contained various typos and technical errors that the CFPB now has recognized in its Supplementary Information in the November 14, Federal Register Notice.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on By now, you should know that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has issued "Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions", which is designed to restrict criminal background checks by employers, but you may not know that enforcement responsibility for the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") has been transferred from the Federal Trade Commission to the recently created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB").… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Who owns a social media account that an employee sets up for the purpose of promoting her employer's business? In Eagle v. Morgan, the federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania became one of the first court's to address the issue of ownership of employer social media accounts… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on In a case that vividly demonstrates how employers are vulnerable to insider cyber attacks, a recent federal court decision out of the Southern District of Ohio addressed the scope of federal statutes designed to address such activity.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on On Thursday May 24, 2012, State Senator Charleta Tavares of Columbus introduced a bill that would prohibit employers from asking applicants or employees for their social media password. The bill follows a trend started in Maryland and followed by at least 11 other states (plus Congress) that would prohibit this employer practice. Is this legislation necessary? … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Here is one more potential advantage of using independent contractors rather than employers that so far has flown below the radar screen. According to a federal district court in Wisconsin, the Fair Credit Reporting Act's disclosure obligations do not apply to independent contractor relationships.… Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on Many employers may be surprised to learn that the ADA’s prohibition of medical examinations treat alcohol tests differently from tests for illegal drugs. Under the ADA, employers may not require employees to undergo medical examinations or inquiries unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. Unlike tests for illegal drug use, the EEOCs’ enforcement … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on It seems like everyone is tweeting these days, including employees and often as a part of their jobs. For employers whose employees are using Twitter, Facebook, blogs, or other social media as a part of their jobs, they may want to examine who owns the accounts.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on More and more these days it seems like the obligations of being a lawyer, husband, father, son, sports fan, etc, get in the way of blogging. As a result, I end up accumulating a number of worthwhile topics for blog posts that end up in the discard pile. Twitter helps keep the backlog to a … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on As you have probably noticed, the interaction between social media and federal labor law has been one of this blog’s favorite topics, which we have addressed on multiple occasions. On August 18, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel ("AGC") issued a report that summarizes the General Counsel’s Office’s view on a variety … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Beginning in late 2008, Verizon New England, Inc. (VNE) began requiring its field technicians to carry company-issued cell phones, containing a global positioning system (GPS) during work. Prior to adopting this policy, VNE issued its technicians pagers so that their supervisors could communicate with them. The technician would then have to locate a phone to … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on On July 7 and 19, 2011, the NLRB’s Office of the General Counsel issued a series of three advice memoranda recommending the dismissal of unfair labor practice charges filed by employees who were disciplined for comments made on Facebook. In each of these charges, the employee alleged that their discipline violated Section 8(a)(1) of the … Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Several days ago, I read the New York Times article reporting that the NLRB's Manhattan Regional Director was threatening to file a complaint against Thomson-Reuters for allegedly reprimanding an employee who had criticized management on Twitter.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board issued a press release announcing the settlement of the NLRB's Complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. (AMR) in what has become known as the Facebook Firing case.… Continue Reading
By Brian Hall on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Capital Club – 41 South High Street, 7th Floor Columbus, Ohio An employer’s human resources department can provide one-stop shopping for identity thieves, where they can find personnel records, benefits data, and payroll and tax records all in the same place. What … Continue Reading