Social Media in the

Workplace
Christopher CJ Bell
UAPP230
Agenda

I. Background
II. Essential Characters
III. Use of Social Media in Hiring Decisions
IV. Regulating the Use of Social Media by Employees
V. Future Directions
Background

Social media is defined as online communications in which

individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience
and author. (Davis & Morgan)
job killers
Relevance

1.86 billion users on Facebook (Bhattari)

310 million monthly active viewers on Twitter (Frier)
28 percent of employers report that they've fired people for using
the Internet for non-work-related activity (such as shopping online
or checking out Facebook) during the workday (Rapacon)
18 percent have dismissed employees because of something they
posted on social media (Rapacon)
Millennials spend 1.8 hours of the workday on social media (U.S.
Chamber of Commerce Foundation)
Essential Characters

Applicants/Employees
Employers
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects employees involved in
unions and collective bargaining. In addition, the NLRA gives employees the
right to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. (Lanham)
Use of Social Media in Hiring Decisions

As of today, there are about 20 states that have laws prohibiting

employers from requesting social media account information from
applicants
Maryland was the first state to enact such a law (Ho)
Regulating the Use of Social Media by
Employees

NLRBs rulings, which apply to virtually all private sector

employers, generally tell companies that it is illegal to adopt
broad social media policies like bans on disrespectful
comments or posts that criticize the employer if those policies
discourage workers from exercising their right to communicate
with one another with the aim of improving wages, benefits or
working conditions. (Greenhouse)
But the agency has also found that it is permissible for employers
to act against a lone worker ranting on the Internet (Greenhouse)
Regulating the Use of Social Media by
Employees

Courts have had no difficulty concluding that an employer may

discipline employees who use social media in violation of clearly
stated policy use provisions
Ex: Chapman v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review
Also, courts have found that pubic social media are fair game for
employee investigations, particularly when the employer obtains
the information without asking or pressuring an employee to
provide it.
Ex: Sumien v. Careflite
Future Direction

Courts have not yet clearly delineated the boundaries between a lawful
and unlawful social media policy
Some companies have benefited from offering designated social media
breaks perhaps two or three breaks lasting 15 minutes each during the
workday (Rapacon)
Started last month, Facebook users in the United States and Canada can
search and apply for jobs directly from the social-media platform
(Bhattarai)
Analysts say the new jobs feature is yet another way the social-media site is testing
how much privacy its 1.86 billion users are willing to sacrifice for the sake of
convenience. (Bhattarai)
Discussion

What about limitations on the specific content of the employees

social media activity? Should an employer be able to prohibit its
employees from posting, liking, and tweeting?
Finally, do you think there should be a universal social media
policy that all employers follow?
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