2012 was a momentous year for social media law. We’ve combed through the court decisions, the legislative initiatives, the regulatory actions and the corporate trends to identify what we believe to be the ten most significant social media law developments of the past year–here they are, in no particular order: Bland v. Roberts – A… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Employment Law
New California Law Limits Employer Access to Employee Social Media Accounts
Posted in Employment Law, PrivacyOn September 27, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that restricts employer access to the “personal social media” of employees and applicants for employment. Assembly Bill 1844 (“AB 1844”) adds to the California Labor Code new section 980. Under this section, an employer may not “require or request” an employee or applicant to… Continue Reading
The NLRB Weighs In (Again) On Social Media Policies
Posted in Employment LawWith the issuance of its third guidance document on workplace social media policies in the past year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to refine its position on how to craft workplace social media policies that are consistent with the terms of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Section 7 of the NLRA provides… Continue Reading
Maryland Enacts First Law Prohibiting Employers From Requesting Passwords to Employees’ Online Personal Accounts
Posted in Employment Law, PrivacyIn our recent Socially Aware blog post, we noted that a number of pending state bills are seeking to ban employers from requesting confidential login information, including social media login information, as a condition of employment. In fact, on April 9, 2012, Maryland passed Senate Bill 433/HB 964, prohibiting employers from requesting current and prospective… Continue Reading
What’s Your Facebook Password?
Posted in Employment Law, FCC, Federal Communications Commission Reform Act, PrivacyAccording to press reports, a growing number of employers require job applicants to disclose their login information for Facebook or other social media accounts as a condition of employment. While this practice may very well fall on the wrong side of the law, lawyers and lawmakers are still in the process of establishing the framework… Continue Reading
District Court Considers Value of Twitter Account
Posted in Employment Law, IP, Terms of Use“Man, what do I write here? And what’s it going to be valued at?” So read Noah Kravitz’s Twitter profile soon after Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of the Northern District of California denied Kravitz’s motion to dismiss a number of claims brought against him by his former employer related to the Twitter account. While Kravitz… Continue Reading
NLRB Report Provides Guidance to Employers on Social Media Issues
Posted in Employment LawOn August 18, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) Office of the General Counsel released a report discussing the outcome of fourteen cases that its Division of Advice has investigated this year involving social media use in the employment context. While the report does not reflect actual decisions of the NLRB, it does indicate the… Continue Reading
NLRB Gets Worked Up Over Social Media Policies
Posted in Employment LawThe National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) remains vigilant regarding the interaction between social media and the workplace, and has continued to focus on the impact of restrictive social media policies on employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In an effort to issue uniform guidance on this emerging issue, all NLRB regional offices… Continue Reading