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Privacy

New state law limits access to employee social media info

10/22/2012
Starting Jan. 1, California employers may no longer require or request employees or job applicants to reveal their social media user names, passwords or other account information.

New Illinois law bars employer access to social media accounts

09/20/2012
Some employers have recently begun to require employees and applicants to provide their passwords or otherwise allow access to their social media accounts. The Illinois Legislature has now put a stop to that practice.

Facebook could prove our employee lied! How far can we go to gain access?

09/17/2012

Q. One our employees called in sick for a shift during a recent holiday weekend. He told several co-workers that he didn’t come to work because he was having so much fun at his cabin. According to a few co-workers, he made several Facebook posts about his various recreational activities on the day that he was allegedly too sick to work … Can I ask one of the co-workers to show me the Facebook posts?

Manager divulged private health info: Now what?

09/12/2012
Q. We approved an employee to take FMLA leave to care for her seriously ill father. The problem is that her supervisor has shared the details of the dad’s illness with other employees. This is a breach of confidentiality. The employee has complained. What should happen to the supervisor?

A friend indeed: Do Facebook users have privacy rights?

08/23/2012

At last count, the more than 900 million Facebook users have more than 125 billion “friends.” But in the workplace, who is really your friend on Facebook? In this recent case, a manager strong-armed an employee to get access to a co-worker’s Facebook page. Is that an invasion of privacy?

Illinois ‘Facebook Law’ bans seeking employee passwords

08/21/2012
Gov. Pat Quinn has signed legislation barring employers from requesting job applicants’ or employees’ social media passwords. Dubbed the “Face­­­book Law,” the new law is intended to protect employees’ private communications from the prying eyes of prospective or current bosses.

7 ways to limit your social media liability

06/14/2012

Online social networking sites provide a variety of benefits to organizations. They can help you collect industry-based knowledge, reach new customers, build your brand and publicize your company’s name and reputation. But those benefits come with their fair share of legal risks. You need a comprehensive social media policy to guide employees on your expectations about their online behavior.

Federal law doesn’t cover misuse of trade secrets

06/12/2012
The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) doesn’t grant employers any legal recourse if an employee misuses information obtained from company computers, according to a recent federal court ruling.

Ensure email policy spells out access rules

05/18/2012
When it comes to securing em­­ployees’ email accounts against internal hacking, leave nothing to chance. Make it clear that you forbid employees from illegitimately accessing co-workers’ email—and that it’s grounds for dismissal.

Federal computer law doesn’t cover misuse of trade secrets

04/12/2012
The federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) doesn’t grant employers any legal recourse if an employee misuses information obtained from company computers, according to a recent Minnesota Federal District Court ruling.