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Articles Posted in Social Media and the Workplace

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Promoting a new business on Facebook could violate a non-competition agreement. Who knew?

Actually, pretty much everyone.That includes, most importantly, the relevant portion of the three-judge Pennsylvania Superior Court panel in this recent opinion. The case, Joseph v. O’Laughlin, doesn’t involve an employment relationship. Rather, the plaintiff and defendant entered into an asset purchase agreement, which included a covenant not to compete. Among…

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Employee free speech on social media? HA! HA! says federal appellate court

Remember when I told you (in this blog post, this article, and this tv interview) that private-sector employees have no First Amendment right, while government employees have limited free-speech rights? I lied. Actually, I was telling the truth. Today’s blog post proves that. Michael Todd Snipes was a law enforcement officer…

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Post-Charlottesville, “Name and Shame,” and how employers can respond legally?

As I type out this post at 10:15 pm on Sunday evening, there are many reasons why I am thankful that NBC10 in Philadelphia tapped me for an interview that aired on Sunday. Not the least of which is that I can make this blog post a short one, link to…

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How would you respond if your employee was photographed marching in Charlottesville over the weekend?

Following a tumultuous weekend in Charlottesville, VA, where a white nationalist march turned deadly, it appears as though at least one attendee will return home from the rally to find himself unemployed. “Unite the Right” attendees are getting outed on social media and apparently losing their jobs. Seth Millstein at…

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Here’s how promoting your company on LinkedIn could cost you your job.

Especially if you overlook that non-solicitation agreement you signed with your prior employer… Early last month, I blogged here about a situation involving an individual who: signed a non-solicitation agreement with Company A; left Company A to work for Company B; and invited some former Company A employees to connect…

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He was fired for a Facebook post, but can he still collect unemployment benefits?

An employee who lost his job for badmouthing his boss on Facebook should still collect unemployment benefits, according to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Ain’t that a wicked pissah. It’s further proof that employees can get away with doing a lot of bad stuff on social media. For example, do…

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Bloomberg’s in depth coverage of social media sex shenanigans at work is too good not to share

I know good clickbait when I see it. LinkedIn, Tinder, Potato, Potato. First, Polly Mosendz and Rebecca Greenfield report here at Bloomberg.com about how a managing director allegedly misread the signs and took a less orthodox approach to recruiting a candidate. He used his corporate LinkedIn account to share a picture…

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There’s a certain irony when a TV personality gets fired for something caught on video

And when that video goes viral on social media, it’s not only ironic but quite blogworthy. So here we are… Emily Crane at the Daily Mail reports here that a Philadelphia television reporter has been fired. The reason? Well, she got into it with a police officer outside of a…

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The 6 Ways “Covfefe” Can Improve HR Compliance

It all began last week with a (possible) typographical error in a tweet from our 45th President, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.” At first, President Trump’s tweet confused us; “covfefe” even stumped a spelling bee champ while creating a spike in demand for novelty license plates. But then President Trump doubled down on Twitter, “Who…

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Is there anything social media can’t catch? Certainly not an obscene hand gesture from (the former) Mr. Met.

In 1968, when Philadelphia Eagles fans pelted Santa Claus with snowballs, the 19-year-old kid who dressed as Jolly Old St. Nick, took the onslaught like a champ! As frustrated as he may have been, the worst our Kris Kringle did was to tell a fan that he wouldn’t get any presents…