Fired for Social Media at Work?
With social media becoming an increasingly substantial part of normal day to day operations, the line between an individual’s personal, private social media profile or blog and the individual’s work life has blurred. More and more, reports of employers disciplining or terminating employees based on the employee’s Facebook posts or pictures, Tweets or blog posts. Read more here.
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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.
Keeping your Facebook out of your employer's hands
What would you do if your employer asked for your Facebook password? The scenario is growing increasingly common, with reports of employers and even interviewers requesting Facebook passwords, as a condition of employment. Some universities and schools have also joined in this process, requiring students to turn over user names and passwords or allow the institution to view private content through “friending.”
With the looming threat on individual privacy, several states have taken steps to ban employers from requiring employees, contractors, and job candidates to reveal social media passwords. Additionally, the Password Protection Act of 2012 (“PPA”) and the Social Networking Online Protection Act (“SNOPA”) have recently been introduced at the Federal level. Read More.
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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.
Consequences for social media at work?
With social media becoming an increasingly substantial part of normal day to day operations, the line between an individual’s personal, private social media profile or blog and the individual’s work life has blurred. More and more, reports of employers disciplining or terminating employees based on the employee’s Facebook posts or pictures, Tweets or blog posts.
Natalie Munroe, a Pennsylvania teacher, filed suit against the school district from which she was fired for violating her right to free speech. Although the school board cites performance difficulties as the trigger for Munroe’s termination, her firing and subsequent lawsuit follow a long controversy between Munroe and the school district over her blog “Where Are We Going & Why Are We in this Hand Basket.” Read More.
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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.
Do students have free speech rights at school? Can schools force students to divulge passwords?
The ACLU has filed suit against a Minnesota school district on behalf of a 12-year old student over two separate instances involving Facebook.
The ACLU alleges that the student’s First Amendment Rights were violated when she was punished for posting her dislike of a school staff member on Facebook. She was assigned detention and required to write an apology to the staff member. She then received in-school suspension and was barred from a school field trip when she subsequently cursed in a Facebook post and complained that someone had reported her to the school.
It is further alleged that the student’s Fourth Amendment Rights were violated when she was forced to divulge her Facebook and email user name and passwords. While the activity of the school is precisely the type that pending legislation seeks to abolish, the outcome of this case could provide noteworthy guidelines for both students and school officials. Read More.
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In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.
Should you have a social media will? U.S. Government thinks so.
The idea of a social media will may sound a bit silly, but according to our federal government, “[if] you have social media profiles set up online, you should create a statement of how you would like your online identity to be handled.” According to a recent government blog post:
If you have social media profiles set up online, you should create a statement of how you would like your online identity to be handled. Just like a traditional will helps your survivors handle your physical belongings, a social media will spells out how you want your online identity to be handled. Read More.
In addition to Thriving Attorney, Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, an intellectual property, litigation, and business law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charity devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time. Click to read more about Darin Klemchuk's practice as an intellectual property lawyer.