Updating Your Corporate Social Media Policy

Defining “Social Media”

• Mr. Oberstein defines social media as any communication that requires the use of a keyboard or a device.

How Frequent Should Social Media Policies Be Updated?

• We live in a rapidly changing world, and policies should always be reviewed on a regular basis.
• Many organizations update after 3-5 years - but that was the old normal. 
• The new normal, based on recent events, Mr. Oberstein suggests updating policies every two years.

Changes Prompting Social Media Policy Updates

• COVID-19: Thanks to the pandemic, we now have an extraordinary amount of work being done via social media of all kinds.
• The NLRA and Union Organizing Efforts Using Social Media: This applies to not just unions approaching employees through social media, but also employees approaching employees, because that is also protected activity. A good social media policy under the National Labor Relations Act is a policy that gives good, clear examples of what is permissible and what is not permissible, and lets employees know what their rights are.
• “It's best to tell employees about what all their obligations and all your obligations as the employer are, upfront, right away, so everybody knows.”

Best Practice Elements of Social Media Policies

• Use clear, illustrated examples;
• Make sure it meshes well with other corporate policies;
• Employee training on the policy should begin at Day One!

Cybersecurity, Trade Secrets and Copyrights

• Employees should be trained by the employer's cyber security team, regarding social media measures and monitoring, emphasizing best practices.
• If you have policies on copyrights and trade secrets, this is one of those meshing situations where it has to mesh with your social media policy.
• This is about keeping company information confidential as well as maintaining the confidentiality of our clients.
• It’s also about respecting the copyrights of others, including the used of licensed images, etc. on things as innocuous as email signatures and internal Powerpoint presentations.

Take Down Protocols

• Take down protocols must be established in your social media policy, because the organization is responsible for what's out there and they can be held liable.
• The policy should, again, provide clarity and examples to set expectations.
• Companies have a responsibility to not only establish those protocols, but also to monitor their media around the clock, to stay ahead of any inappropriate messaging.
• Organizations must also be very sensitive to the need for consistency in take down policy enforcement!
• Companies must maintain a “take down team”, and it must include not only the people responsible for maintaining that policy, but also the company’s legal or law department.

Setting Expectations

• Your Social Media Policy may tell employees:
• What they CAN’T say on Social Media;
• What they CAN or SHOULD say;
• Specific wording to use when engaging on Social Media.
• Disclosure of Employee Status: Employers may require employees to include a “disclaimer” of sorts on Social Media posts that include company references, to be upfront about the fact that this message is coming from a company employee.

Are Social Media Policies an Infringement of Free Speech?

• Public Employees: Everything done by a public employee is public record - but public employers, in general, do have to uphold free speech and privacy rights as part of their mandates.
• Private Employees: They have the freedom to restrict certain types of speech.
• For both kinds of employees, it’s important here for employers to set an expectation of privacy, which needs to not only be clearly stated in a policy is discussed, but consistently practiced.
• Privacy also gets into the area of public relations, specifically with things like photographs. Sometimes people will put a photograph of somebody that they know, or an organization will put a photograph of happy customers at a picnic, but they will fail to get permission prior to posting. The laws on this vary from state to state, so organizations need to be very, very careful. If a company uses someone’s picture on social media without getting the necessary permissions, there's a great possibility that they have violated that person’s right to publicity - so employers need to be sensitive to that.

Communicating Your Social Media Policy

• Train employees on the policy from Day One, during onboarding.
• Continue to communicate that policy on a regular basis, including when changes are made (but even when they are not).
• The more clear you are in communication, the less gray area you're going to have in all situations work or personal. 
• Periodic retraining alongside communication has to take place, because lax behavior and bad habits must be corrected and memories often need to be refreshed.

Returning To Practice

• Mr. Oberstein is available as an investigator, a neutral investigator, as well as a mediator and arbitrator, a trainer and an educator.
• Many of his mediations involve complex situations, including:
• Labor and management;
• Construction disputes;
• Commercial disputes; as well as 
• Disputes in the financial industry, among others.
• Many of his arbitration decisions have been published for use by other arbitrators. 

Bob Oberstein Backstory

• B.A. in English from St. John’s University 
• M.S. in Social Science (Labor Studies) from Long Island University
• Master of Jurisprudence, Labor and Employment Law from Tulane University Law School
• Began his career as a Labor Relations Administrator with the City of Phoenix
• Served as a self-employed neutral Fact Finder, Mediator, and Arbitrator/Hearing Officer
• Most recently served as Labor Relations Manager for the Snohomish County Public Utility
• Mr. Oberstein is currently resurrecting his practice as a neutral Arbitrator, Mediator, Facilitator, and Investigator.

Contact

• Bob Oberstein: boberstein@aol.com
• Bob Oberstein on LinkedIn