To Snoop on Employees' Social Media or Not to Snoop:

Reconciling Employers' Monitoring Rights with Employees' Privacy Expectations

Social media offer a window into how employees live their lives and conduct their personal and professional business. Should employers gaze into that window to uncover what employees are up to when they are off the clock? Employee privacy is one of the most challenging issues facing employers today.

Employers who opt to exercise their right to monitor have plenty of company: 39% of companies review job applicants' social media posts, and 43% have rejected a candidate for posting racy photos, bad-mouthing a former boss, or otherwise posting inappropriate content, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Increasingly, organizations ask current and prospective employees to turn over their private user names and passwords to personal Facebook accounts. Over 65% of employers have fired workers for inappropriate online content, including tone-deaf tweets, pornographic posts, and Facebook rants that violate regulatory guidelines and the law, reveals American Management Association/ePolicy Institute research.

On the other side of the fence, employees nationwide are gaining legislative support in their quest to maintain online privacy. To date, 17 states already have passed laws making it illegal for bosses to demand login information for employees' Facebook and other personal accounts. An additional 20 states are considering similar legislation.

Nancy Flynn-ePolicy Institute founder and author of books including The Social Media Handbook, The ePolicy Toolkit, and Blog Rules-discusses the challenges of balancing employees' privacy expectations with management's monitoring rights. She delivers best practice-based guidelines for employers and practical advice for employees operating in a world in which the law is still struggling to keep pace with technology.

To learn more, see our Social Media Rules Seminar/Webinar Brochure

Should Companies Monitor Their Employees' Social Media? Monitoring advocate Nancy Flynn debates a leading privacy proponent in The Wall Street Journal.

Password Protected: States Pass Anti-Snooping Laws. Read Nancy Flynn's comments in USA Today.

Contact Nancy Flynn to discuss your training needs, get a quote, and schedule your program.