There seem to be two hot button issues that are percolating these days. One is the controversy over firearms purchases and the need for background checks. The second relates to social media background checks as they refer to employment screening.
The recent lawsuit, known as the Facebook case, is reaching a settlement.
The court case alleged that American Medical Response fired its employee because she bad mouthed her supervisor on Facebook. The probable settlement will preclude this case from establishing an important precedent in employment law with respect to how non-working time social media use can be regulated.
According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), “…the company (American Medical Response) was too general in establishing guidelines for social media postings in its employee handbook . Issues like blogging, Internet posting, and communications between employees, were too broadly defined. The suit alleged as well that American Medical Response had illegally denied union representation to the employee during an investigatory interview shortly before the employee posted the negative comments on her Facebook page.” As part of the undisclosed settlement with the CT employee, the company will revise its employment policies.
While no precedent was legally established, this case will provide at least some guidelines with concern for employee social media practices. Still, the beat goes on as social media becomes more prominent in society and issues about employee free speech and social media monitoring for employment screening purposes will remain controversial. Any concrete determination of precedents and practices probably still remains years away.
