/>i“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun” – Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable
It seems like every week there is a story gone “viral” of an employee posting something colossally stupid or offensive on a social media site, getting fired, and the employer left scrambling to repair its damaged reputation. Here are just a few of the recent gems:
1. ESPN suspended outspoken anchor Keith Olbermann for engaging in a heated twitter debate with Penn State University (“PSU”) students. After a PSU alum brought to his attention an annual fundraiser at PSU that raised $13 million for pediatric cancer, Olbermann tweeted “PSU students are pitiful because they’re PSU students – period,” and called another student a “moron.” Olbermann later apologized (via Twitter of course), calling his comments “stupid and childish.”
2. A school bus driver thought it was a good idea to take a “selfie” holding a full bottle of beer to her lips as she sat behind the driver’s wheel, and then post it on Facebook. Nothing says “student safety” like a brewski and a 15,000 pound vehicle, right? The school district promptly fired the driver after concerned parents rightfully went ballistic. Fun Fact: the driver never actually opened the bottle.
The boss saw it and tweeted back: “no… you don’t start the ** job today! I just fired you! Good luck with your no money, no job life.” Not to be outdone in this social media throwdown, the boss added some crying emoji faces. Not surprisingly, his corporate ownership was none too happy with the public airing of the dispute (think angry emoji faces).
So how can employers reduce their legal and reputational risks from their employees’ social media abuses? For starters:
1. Adopt and enforce a clear social media policy. (Easier said than done given the NLRB’s views on the subject).
2. Train employees to think twice before tweeting, posting or sharing. And then think a third time.
3. Train employees to ask themselves: is this tweet/post/share something that I would say or do in front of my boss, my spouse, my parents, or my kids? If not, don’t tweet/post/share it.
4. Train employees to further ask themselves: is this tweet/post/share something that I am comfortable explaining and/or defending to the individuals mentioned above, or to a judge, jury, or the mainstream media? If not, don’t tweet/post/share it.
5. Train employees to remember that although “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” what happens on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram will stay on the internet forever. Or, as they used to say, “this will go on your permanent record.”
6. Bottom line – Everyone (from the CEO to the rank-and-file worker) should recognize “you are what you tweet,” and that all must choose their words, videos, pictures, and yes, emojis, carefully.
