More companies are becoming a part of the social networking community – setting up Facebook pages, “friending” their employees and customers, and so on. Businesses use these sites for a variety of purposes including marketing; client, employee and government relations; and community involvement. With lawmaking bodies and courts just beginning to struggle with the range of issues these new media create, companies should exercise caution and monitor the legal, technical, and other developments that may affect their involvement.

Companies already a part of (or thinking of joining) the social networking community should consider the effects on employee relations. In theory, the risks inherent in interactions between/among the company and/or its employees in a social networking environment are similar to risks the company faces in more traditional workplace settings such as the office or company-sponsored events. Online media, however, create some interesting questions:

  • Are all of your employees aware of the company site so as not to feel left out?
  • Do employees feel as if they must participate on the site – such as accepting other employees as “friends,” or agreeing with company posts? Do they need to be compensated for participation?
  • Does a supervisor accepting some employees as friends and not others raise discrimination risks and morale concerns?
  • Are employees free to dissent from company positions on its site? How far can employees go? Disciplining or terminating an individual’s employment with the company for activity on the company’s site or some other online social media can be risky on a number of grounds – such as under whistleblower laws (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley and state/local laws), the National Labor Relations Act, and anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws.
  • Does active company management of the site constitute monitoring of employee communications?
  • How does the company handle the information about employees (and their dependents, friends and others) it may have access to as part of the employees’ participation in the network?

For sure, there are many areas about which companies need to think through as they consider their direct participation in the social networking community – the services of the social network provider, promoting the company’s presence in the community, consumer protection, copyright protections, and so on. Even the list above only begins to scratch the surface of the range of employment law issues that arise when an employer participates in this media.

Tags: Facebook, friending, National Labor Relations Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, social networking
Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Photo of Joseph J. Lazzarotti Joseph J. Lazzarotti

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)…

Joseph J. Lazzarotti is a principal in the Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He founded and currently co-leads the firm’s Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity practice group, edits the firm’s Privacy Blog, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Trained as an employee benefits lawyer, focused on compliance, Joe also is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits practice group.

In short, his practice focuses on the matrix of laws governing the privacy, security, and management of data, as well as the impact and regulation of social media. He also counsels companies on compliance, fiduciary, taxation, and administrative matters with respect to employee benefit plans.

Privacy and cybersecurity experience – Joe counsels multinational, national and regional companies in all industries on the broad array of laws, regulations, best practices, and preventive safeguards. The following are examples of areas of focus in his practice:

  • Advising health care providers, business associates, and group health plan sponsors concerning HIPAA/HITECH compliance, including risk assessments, policies and procedures, incident response plan development, vendor assessment and management programs, and training.
  • Coached hundreds of companies through the investigation, remediation, notification, and overall response to data breaches of all kinds – PHI, PII, payment card, etc.
  • Helping organizations address questions about the application, implementation, and overall compliance with European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and, in particular, its implications in the U.S., together with preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act.
  • Working with organizations to develop and implement video, audio, and data-driven monitoring and surveillance programs. For instance, in the transportation and related industries, Joe has worked with numerous clients on fleet management programs involving the use of telematics, dash-cams, event data recorders (EDR), and related technologies. He also has advised many clients in the use of biometrics including with regard to consent, data security, and retention issues under BIPA and other laws.
  • Assisting clients with growing state data security mandates to safeguard personal information, including steering clients through detailed risk assessments and converting those assessments into practical “best practice” risk management solutions, including written information security programs (WISPs). Related work includes compliance advice concerning FTC Act, Regulation S-P, GLBA, and New York Reg. 500.
  • Advising clients about best practices for electronic communications, including in social media, as well as when communicating under a “bring your own device” (BYOD) or “company owned personally enabled device” (COPE) environment.
  • Conducting various levels of privacy and data security training for executives and employees
  • Supports organizations through mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations with regard to the handling of employee and customer data, and the safeguarding of that data during the transaction.
  • Representing organizations in matters involving inquiries into privacy and data security compliance before federal and state agencies including the HHS Office of Civil Rights, Federal Trade Commission, and various state Attorneys General.

Benefits counseling experience – Joe’s work in the benefits counseling area covers many areas of employee benefits law. Below are some examples of that work:

  • As part of the Firm’s Health Care Reform Team, he advises employers and plan sponsors regarding the establishment, administration and operation of fully insured and self-funded health and welfare plans to comply with ERISA, IRC, ACA/PPACA, HIPAA, COBRA, ADA, GINA, and other related laws.
  • Guiding clients through the selection of plan service providers, along with negotiating service agreements with vendors to address plan compliance and operations, while leveraging data security experience to ensure plan data is safeguarded.
  • Counsels plan sponsors on day-to-day compliance and administrative issues affecting plans.
  • Assists in the design and drafting of benefit plan documents, including severance and fringe benefit plans.
  • Advises plan sponsors concerning employee benefit plan operation, administration and correcting errors in operation.

Joe speaks and writes regularly on current employee benefits and data privacy and cybersecurity topics and his work has been published in leading business and legal journals and media outlets, such as The Washington Post, Inside Counsel, Bloomberg, The National Law Journal, Financial Times, Business Insurance, HR Magazine and NPR, as well as the ABA Journal, The American Lawyer, Law360, Bender’s Labor and Employment Bulletin, the Australian Privacy Law Bulletin and the Privacy, and Data Security Law Journal.

Joe served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Laura Denvir Stith on the Missouri Court of Appeals.

Read more about Joseph J. Lazzarotti
Show more Show less
Related Posts
A Deepfake of a Baltimore High School Principal Raises Significant Employment Issues
May 9, 2024
OCR Official Speaks About Compliance Concerns for HIPAA Covered Entities and Business Associates
August 21, 2023
NJ Mental Health Provider’s Response to Negative Online Reviews Costs Practice $30,000 in OCR Penalty
June 6, 2023