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Myspace, Yourspace: What Employers Must Know About Social-Media Risks

The use of social-media sites—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter—has surged at a record-breaking pace over the past few years, and they are now used by employees and employers in almost every workplace—a development that has opened new vehicles for harassment, discrimination and employment-related defamation.

By Joni F. Mason | Updated on March 25, 2011

The use of social-media sites—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter—has surged at a record-breaking pace over the past few years, and they are now used by employees and employers in almost every workplace—a development that has opened new vehicles for harassment, discrimination and employment-related defamation.

While most activity is productive, employees may intentionally or inadvertently use social media—whether on the job or at home—in a way that poses risks for their employers.

Likewise, an employer’s use of social media in the hiring and screening process can create significant risk for an organization if it is alleged that the employer relied upon prohibited information in the selection process.

Discipline Decisions

There are multiple scenarios that may prompt an employer to discipline an employee for his or her social-media use. One common scenario is where an employee spends a significant amount of on-duty time using applications like Facebook.

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