How to Create a Social Media Policy
Every business needs to have a social media policy to help guide staff and other stakeholders through the ethical standards your organization wants to uphold.
Did you fully understand that? Let me repeat it: According to the Federal Trade Commission, “Every business needs to have a social media policy.”
Before doing so, it is important to think about what you want to accomplish and discuss some important questions.
Creating a social media ethics policy and guidelines should not be a year-long project, nor should it result in a 300-page document. I have created policies multiple times. The key is getting the right stakeholders in the room, agreeing on what is most important, and understanding that you are creating a set of guidelines, not a book! The goal is not to create a policy manual no one will read; instead, the goal is to create a policy that is one or two pages that can be posted where everyone can see it. In fact, the policy should be posted at everyone’s desk.
Ask the Right Questions
Questions you should ask are as follows:
1. Who needs the policy? (Ideally, this should apply to every employee, volunteer, board member, vendor, agency, and so on.) Anyone who might submit social media content on behalf of your organization or business needs to know about the policy and receive training.
2. Who will write the policy? Ideally it should be written by a marketing person, not an attorney. You can simply use the templates available at http://socialmedia.org/disclosure/.
3. Who will train your staff? Training is an important part of creating a social media ethics policy and it is part of the Federal Trade Commission mandate. Again, in an ideal situation, this would be conducted by a marketing person, not an attorney. Additional questions for you:
4. How will HR train new employees, volunteers, and others in your social media policy?
5. Who will train new board members, vendors, and others in your social media policy?
6. Who can be the social media “ambassador” to answer questions?
Changing Labor Issues
One area for all businesses and organizations to understand is that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects certain employee statements about the workplace on social media. Rulings have been changing over the last few years and continue to evolve, so it is important to stay up to date with these changes. One of the best sources I have found is www.jdsupra.com. Here you can sign up for e-mail updates and alerts on social media and NLRB rulings. The site offers updates from attorneys and law firms around the country on ethics, social media, NLRB, and many other issues. Because of the changing nature of the rulings, it is difficult to cite some here, but generally speaking, here is what the NLRB has tended to rule in favor of:
The NLRB has tended to protect employee comments about the workplace on social media sites. Attorney Patrick Pearce, of Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC, practices with the firm’s Employment and Labor and Hospitality groups. Pearce writes as follows:
“On August 22, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled against a non-union restaurant based on management terminating employees as the result of the employees’ Facebook postings. Unhappy employees posted comments to Facebook regarding the situation, and the employer responded by terminating employees who had posted. The Board ordered that the employees be reinstated and receive back pay, lost benefits, and removal of the discharge records from the employee personnel files. The decision illustrates why both unionized and non-union employers need to be aware of the Board’s positions on employee use of social media. The basis for the NLRB aggressively pursuing the issue is the Board’s position that social media postings may constitute “concerted activity” protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA may apply regardless of whether the employer is union or non-union, and the Board enforces the Act based on its interpretations of the Act’s provisions.” (sipandnosh.com 2014)
Pearce goes on with the caution: There are several considerations for management following this decision:
“Be aware that regardless of union presence, the Board may have jurisdiction over an employer. The Board has been more aggressive in recent years in pursuing potential violations of the NLRA against non-union employers. Employers need to know that simply lacking a union presence will not protect them against Board enforcement action if they are not acting in compliance with the NLRA.” (sipandnosh.com 2014)
Be cautious when considering disciplining employees based on social media use. Under the NLRA, employees are entitled to discuss terms and conditions of employment with other workers. Employers need to be careful before taking action. For example, a negative posting on hours or wages by one employee that is responded to by other employees may be protected as multiple workers are discussing protected issues, making the discussions potentially protected “concerted activity.” A negative posting by one worker that does not generate any responses or discussion may instead be considered “griping” and not protected under the NLRA. Each situation will have to be assessed on its particular facts. (sipandnosh.com 2014)
Check and possibly rewrite organization social media and communication policies. The Board has been increasingly aggressive over the last several years in scrutinizing both union and nonunion employer social media and communication policies and practices. Many organizations have policies written before the Board began pursuing the social media issue. These policies may not be in compliance with current Board interpretations of the NLRA and what employees are allowed to post or discuss online. Employers should double-check to make sure that practices and policies are consistent with what is permissible under the Act as the Board interprets it. (sipandnosh.com 2014)
Summary
In this chapter, we have discussed the issue of what to consider when creating a social media ethics policy. You need to be aware of what you can and can’t mandate based on law.
There are excellent social media ethics policy templates available at http://socialmedia.org/disclosure/