Title: Law on Social Media Policies at Work | Justia
Headings: Social Media Policies
Social Media Policies
Employees Acting Together to Address Work Conditions on Social Media
On Your Own Time: Social Media

Content: Is this legal? It depends on your state. There are a few states that have enacted legislation to prevent employers from requesting passwords from employees, and other states have laws pending on this issue. Some employers believe that the use of sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook will allow them to search for employees with specific qualifications and recruit them. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has noted that the increased use of social media may have an impact on anti-discrimination laws. Most of these sites reveal individuals’ race, gender, approximate age, and possibly ethnicity or national origin. The EEOC has taken the position that personal information from these sites may not be used to make employment decisions on prohibited bases. Social media can also have an impact on workplace harassment. For example, if your coworker posts sexually harassing or derogatory information about you away from the workplace, your mutual employer can be liable for a hostile work environment if it knew of the posts or if the harassing party used work equipment, such as a work laptop, to do the harassing. Social media is also playing an increasingly strong role in litigation, including employment discrimination litigation.