AssociatedFinancialGroup.com
Social Networking
Risks and Rewards
Presented By:
Amber Richard, Director of Interactive Marketing, YMCA of the Greater
Twin Cities
Natalie Lenz, Human Resources Generalist, YMCA, of the Greater Twin
Cities
Yvonne Shorts Lind, J.D., HR Consultant, Associated Financial Group
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Copyright © 2012 by Associated Financial Group, LLC
Social Networking Poll
• How many users on Facebook
worldwide?
– Answer: Over one billion
• What percentage of 18 to 24 year-olds
– Answer: 98%
• What percentage of companies use
social media to recruit employees?
– Answer: More than 90%
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Scope of Social Networking
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Benefits + Rewards
• Awareness/Branding +
PR
• Member Service + PR
• Trends +
Member/Supporter
Feedback
• Member/Supporter
Education
• Fundraising
• Communication
– Faster/Efficient
• Recruiting
• Employee Training
• Speed
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Leveraging SoMe at Ys
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Leveraging SoMe at Camps
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SoMe Structure at the Y
• Decentralized: Y’s and Camps
• Centralized: YMCA of the Greater Twin
Cities Policies – Human Resources
• Protocols - Marketing
• Training
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Social Networking Websites
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Types of Data Stored
• Information maintained in data systems often
represents highly confidential and “sensitive”
information:
– Financial
– Medical
– Social Security Numbers (DOB, maiden name)
– Credit information
– Immigration documentation
– Intellectual property (patents, trademarks and copyrights)
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Data Breach Risks
• Confidential information can be exploited for
many purposes
– Identity theft
– Identity fraud
– Medical fraud
– Personal or professional gain
– Industrial sabotage
– Harm to reputation or good will
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Social Networking Risks
• Social Networking Websites (SNW) pose risks for
unprepared employers
– Lines between personal and professional lives are blurred
– Employee’s use on company time can cause lost
productivity (estimated to be as high as 2.25b annually)
– 43% of employees access SNW at work
– 50% of employees are searching for a new job while at work
– Only 26% of employers surveyed recently block SNW at work » Social Networking and Reputational Risk in the Workplace: Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics &
Workplace Survey Results
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Social Networking Risks
• Employee’s use on/off company time can cause harm
to company’s reputation/brand
– 74% of employees surveyed believed it is easy to damage a
company’s brand or reputation via sites such as Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube
– 15% of employees would comment via SNW if employer did
something they didn’t agree with
– 37% of employees don’t consider what their boss or
colleagues would think when posting
– 34% don’t consider impact on their clients before posting » Social Networking and Reputational Risk in the Workplace: Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics &
Workplace Survey Results
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Copyright © 2012 by Associated Financial Group, LLC
Social Networking Risks
• Employee’s use on/off duty time can cause potential
liability to employer
– Harassment of co-workers, clients and/or vendors
– Defamation of colleagues or third-parties (i.e., members)
– Basis for discrimination claims
– Breach of confidentiality or other proprietary information
– Negligent references
– Violations of non-compete, non-disclosure and non-solicitation
agreements
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Social Networking Risks
• Employer’s use of SNW can also cause potential
exposure when used for hiring or other employment
decisions – Sites reveal protected class status and not always true
persona
– Sites can reveal unauthorized or inflated references from
former colleagues
– Harm to employee morale
• 66% employers believe they have “right to know how employees
portray themselves…
• While 53% employees believe their SNW are none of employer’s
business
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Facebook: Over 1b active users and more than 200m users access FB
through their mobile devices. 700b minutes per month on FB. Average
person has 130 “friends.” www.Facebook.com/press
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SNW Risks -
Legal Minefields
• Privacy laws (federal and state) – Social Media Login laws banning employers from asking
employees for user names, passwords and other social
media information
• Maryland, Illinois, California
• Whistleblower statutes – Federal and state statutes protect an employee’s ability to
raise legitimate concerns about the occurrence of illegal or
unethical activities
• State Off-duty statutes
– Minnesota and Wisconsin protect employees’ use of lawful
consumable products outside work
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Legal Minefields – NLRA Rights
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
– Applies to union and non-union employers
– Enforced by the NLRB
– Section 7 of NLRA gives employees right to organize
unions, collectively bargain and “to engage in other
concerted activities for purposes of collective
bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.”
– Concerted activity is when two or more employees
come together to discuss “terms and conditions of
employment” (wages, benefits, work hours, safety,
dress codes, disdain for management)
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Legal Minefields – NLRA Rights
• Section 8(a)(1) prohibits an employer from
interfering with employees who engage in
concerted activity.
• Concerted Activities
– Must involve more than one employee but
– An individual employee may act on the behalf of
other employees in furtherance of a common
workplace interest
• Concerted activity is not action taken solely
for one’s personal purpose
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Legal Minefields – NLRA Rights
• Activity is considered for employees’ mutual aid and
protection when the activity seeks to improve the
terms and conditions of employment.
– Activities do not need to be related to unions or
collective bargaining to be considered activity for the
purpose of mutual aid and protection.
• Activities that are Not Protected under Section 7
– Activities that are violent, unlawful, in breach of
contract or unjustifiable disloyal
– For example, violations of an employer’s harassment
policy is not protected
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Legal Minefields – NLRA Rights
• NLRB has held that some standard employer policies
violated section 8 of the NLRA because the policies
would reasonably “chill” employees’ exercise of
section 7 rights
• Explicit
• Implicit:
1. Employees would reasonably construe to prohibit
Section 7 activity;
2. Rule created in response to union activity; or
3. Rule applied to restrict exercise of Section 7 rights
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NLRA Section 7 Rights
• NLRB has found no concerted activity where:
– Employee did not discuss issue with co-workers before
or after post (either verbally or via social media)
– Social Media post did not arise from common concern
of employees
– Employee’s activity was so egregious so as to lose
protection under the Act
– Employee’s posts were expression of an individual
gripe, rather than activity sought to induce or incite
group action
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Legal Minefields – NLRA Rights
• Employer Policies Held to Violate Sect. 8 of the NLRA:
– Restricting employees from posting pictures of themselves
depicting the company
– Courtesy rule prohibiting disrespectful language that injured the
image or reputation of the company
– Prohibiting on posting, distributing, removal or alternation of any
material on company property regardless if during non-work time
– Banning employees from discussing “private matters . . . Including
sick calls, leaves of absence, FMLA call-outs, ADA
accommodations, workers’ compensation injuries, personal health
information”
– Restricting discussion of “sensitive information” which included
payroll information
– Prohibiting employees from sharing the names, addresses, phone
numbers and email addresses of co-workers
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• Best practices for social networking for workplace
– Consider blocking access during company time – but
evaluate your corporate culture and business needs first
– Limit use during company time to only employees with
business need (marketing, sales)
– Train all managers and employees who use SNW for work
purposes regarding proper and improper uses
– Review confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation
policies and agreements
– Monitor compliance
SNW Best Practices
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• Post detailed policy regarding use on and off work
– No expectation of privacy
– Control what can and cannot be posted about employer
(comments, photos, references, videos, company information)
• Include consequences for violating policies
• Ensure policy is narrowly tailored (NLRA)
– Evaluate and reinforce other workplace policies (unlawful
harassment, code of conduct, EEO and workplace monitoring).
– Consider “open door” and union avoidance and/or “employer
of choice” type policies and practices
– Evaluate “boundaries” between managers and direct reports
being connected on SNW
SNW Best Practices