Employee Blogging: The Growing Litigation Threat

Description

Several lawsuits have been filed against employers in recent years alleging that they unlawfully restricted employee blogging or allowed employees to defame others in blog postings. Last year, Cisco Systems was sued for defamation after one of its attorneys blogged about opposing counsel.

Over 1.6 million posts are made to blogs daily. In blogs, employees have revealed confidential company information and disparaged their bosses, co-workers and the companies themselves.

Because blogging is a relatively new phenomenon, there is little court guidance for employers on the proper crafting and implementation of blogging policies that protect employers while respecting employees' rights.

Listen as our panel of employment law attorneys examines the legal risks for employers arising from employee blogging and offers best practices to avoid problems and liability—without trampling upon employee rights and privacy.

Outline

1. Current litigation trends
2. Legal risks of under-restricting employees
   1. Vicarious liability for defamation and harassment
   2. Trade secret disclosure
   3. Hostile work environment claims
   4. Privacy issues
   5. Security issues
3. Legal risks of over-restricting employees
   1. First Amendment claims
   2. Protection for employees under the National Labor Relations Act
   3. Protection for religious speech under Title VII
   4. State laws protecting employee off-the-job speech
   5. Unlawful termination claims
4. Best practices for establishing and enforcing company blogging policies
   1. Do not allow anonymous blogging
   2. Establish policies for disclaimers
   3. Monitor blog content
   4. Restrict blogging about competitor companies without their permission
   5. Prohibit posting of confidential information
   6. Include statement regarding IP rights

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

• What are the main sources of liability risk for employers in employee blogging?
• How can companies legally respond to employee blogs that harass or defame others—or disparage the employer?
• How can employers avoid liability for the content of employee blogs, including those that aren't company-sponsored?
• How can employers craft and enforce policies to protect themselves from liability for employee blogging without violating employees' free speech and privacy rights?

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