On May 1, 2024, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court vacated an arbitration award involving the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Officers Association (“Association”) and a former University police officer who was fired due to offensive social media posts. In 2021, several anonymous University students (known as the “Activists”) submitted screenshots of the Police Officer’s social
Social Media
Social Media in the Workplace: More Changes Ahead?
By Donald R. Keller on
Posted in Social Media, Workplace Trends
In days past employees discussed and debated workplace issues around the water cooler. That sentimental past-time has long since been replaced by online social media networking and the reach of social media is stunning.
There are more than 2 billion monthly active Facebook users as of June 2017. 65% of these users on average log…
Pa. Wiretap Laws Forbid Use of Smart Phone Apps to Record Conversations
By Devin Chwastyk on
Posted in Social Media
The Pennsylvania courts have delved into the “App Store,” addressing for the first time the use of smartphones and their applications in the context of illegal wiretapping.
Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act forbids the “interception” of private conversations using an “electronic, mechanical, or other device,” unless all of the participants consent to that recording. State laws like…
McNees Podcast: Social Media Policy Best Practices
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Social Media
Learn all about best practices for your social media policies via the latest McNees podcast. Click here to view the podcast.
Board Continues Aggressive Policing of Employee Social Media Use
By Lee Tankle on
Posted in Social Media
Stop me if you heard this one: the National Labor Relations Board recently reinstated employees who were discharged for comments made on their Facebook pages and found that the employer’s social media policy was unlawful.
Continue Reading Board Continues Aggressive Policing of Employee Social Media Use
Facebook Discussion About “Street People” Protected
By Adam Santucci on
Posted in Social Media
In a recent decision involving employee social media activity, the National Labor Relations Board held that a high-end clothing boutique in San Francisco violated the National Labor Relations Act when it terminated employees who complained on Facebook about working late at night in an unsafe neighborhood. The Board also found that a policy in the…
Employer Takeover of Employee’s LinkedIn Account Does Not Violate Federal Computer Hacking Law, Question of Ownership Remains
By Jodi Frankel on
Posted in Social Media
Given the popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, more and more organizations are resorting to social media sites to promote their brands and manage their public profiles. Employers are also encouraging employees to open social media accounts to carry out marketing and networking objectives. As corporate and professional social media use increases, so is the frequency of lawsuits challenging just who owns social networking accounts and content–the company or the employee who maintains them.
A federal judge is being asked to address this very issue in a case involving a Pennsylvania woman’s claim that her former employer violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act when it took control of her LinkedIn account after she was fired.
Continue Reading Employer Takeover of Employee’s LinkedIn Account Does Not Violate Federal Computer Hacking Law, Question of Ownership Remains