How well do you know your employee handbook? Does it include a policy on how employees should conduct themselves on social media channels?
Emily Martin, founder of Ally HR Partners LLC, said the rules surrounding social media have evolved during her 10 years in the field.
“Every employer should have a social media policy within their handbook,” she said. “In that, they can make specific statements about barring employees from referencing the company name in posts or using the company logo or pictures.”
She said employers in New York state are required to have harassment policies in place that apply to all interactions among employees, including those online.
If someone shares a political opinion or comments on something in the news, Martin said HR personnel must consider the workplace’s rules and guidance from the National Labor Relations Board before determining if discipline is warranted.
“You would have to look at that on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
HR officials should examine what the person said, if it’s clear on the social media platform that they are affiliated with the workplace and if the statement violates the core values of the employer.
“I would not recommend that any employer rush to take action,” Martin said.
Jennifer Hasse, director of HR operations at Elderwood, said issues where employees have sounded off on social media are not uncommon.
“There are so many platforms now that you have to be cognizant of how they operate,” she said.
While staying up to speed on platforms is important, Hasse said so is educating staff on expectations.
“You want to make sure they understand what type of behaviors the workplace deems acceptable or unacceptable,” she said. “That’s a fine line because it’s social media and they have the right to say things.”
Upon hire, she tells new employees they should approach social media with professionalism. Throughout their employment, the company reminds staffers of policies with memos and training sessions.
Trevor Torcello, partner at Gross Shuman PC, helps employers structure policies and calls from companies have been more frequent in the last year.
“I expected to hear more around the election, but where I really had a lot of questions and where people were dealing with issues more than the norm was with the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests,” he said. “It seemed like that ignited a lot of passion, especially right off the bat.”
Another divisive issue was mandated wearing of face masks. He said employees tried to turn mask wearing into a political statement on social media channels and employers wanted to know if they should intervene.
Most issues, Torcello said, are reactive. He recommends that businesses implement policies and continually educate employees.
“If you have a plan and have properly educated employees about it, you will usually have fewer issues,” he said. “You will have given some thought to how these situations could play out and you will be handling them with some foresight.”