Technology, Law, and the Workplace: Week in Review (The "Texters" Edition)
Posted in Social Media & Technology
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| Photo by Joseph Holmes (via Bits) |
Besides providing an interesting commentary on modern life, this series has interesting employment law implications. In this day and age, it is rare for an employer not to provide or allow smartphone use for work purposes. Unfortunately, many employees use this technology while driving, walking, or in countless other dangerous or inappropriate situations. In the event of an accident caused by an employee's use of smartphone technology, employees and third parties could (and often do) seek some form of compensation from the employer, including workers' compensation and tort claims.
Given this potential liability, employers are well advised to maintain policies about appropriate and safe use of smartphone technology. However, the "Texters" series also demonstrates the fundamental shift in attitudes and social norms about use of technology on the go. Employers that wish to counter these norms should educate and train employees about the employer's expectations.
Technology in the Workplace
- DOL to Conduct Web Chats on its Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (Washington, D.C. Employment Law Update)
- Hijacked on LinkedIn, Irate Exec Says (Courthouse News)
- Location, Location, Location: Recent Developments in "GeoPrivacy" and the Impact on the Use of GPS in the U.S. Workplace (Workplace Privacy Counsel)
- Google+ the Workplace Social Media? (Labor Related)
- Amid Stacks of Paper, 'E-Court' Is Finally in Session (NY Times)
- To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties (NY Times)
- No Friend of Mine: Court Denies Facebook Discovery (Delaware Employment Law Blog)
- Should the Government Need a Search Warrant to Track Your Car With GPS? (Time)
- N.Y. Juror Fined for Texting From Deliberations (Going Paperless)
- U.K. Juror Sentenced to Jail for Facebook Contact (Going Paperless)
- Mayo Clinic launches social network (Tech{dot}MN)
- Investment Values Twitter at $8 Billion (Deal Book)
- President Obama @ Twitter Town Hall (White House Blog, The Caucus)
- Facebook Offers Video Chat in Arrangement With Skype (NY Times)
- Texters, the Photo Series (Bits)
- New Glasses Give The Blind Bionic Eyes (Fast Company)
- Watching a Trial on TV, Discussing It on Twitter (NY Times)
- British Tabloid Hacked Missing Girl's Voice Mail, Lawyer Says (NY Times)
- Hackers Commandeer a Fox News Twitter Account (NY Times)
The information contained in this post is provided to alert you to legal developments and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Specific questions about how this information affects your particular situation should be addressed to one of the individuals listed. No representations or warranties are made with respect to this information, including, without limitation, as to its completeness, timeliness, or accuracy, and Lathrop GPM shall not be liable for any decision made in connection with the information. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.
Technology, Law, and the Workplace: Week in Review
Posted in Privacy & Information Security
The worlds of technology and labor and employment law are always on a collision course, but this last week these areas seemed to intersect even more than usual. (Maybe I just have David Foley's "Worlds Colliding" post on the brain.) This week witnessed a host of news about technology-related employment and labor litigation, including settlement of the NLRB's threatened complaint against Thomson for the news organization's social media policy. Stories about the theft of customer payment information from Sony have also dominated the technology news, coming in the wake of the recent Apple location data scandal and Epsilon security breach.There are many important distinctions that apply to the briefcase analogy. For example, the volume and ease of transmittal of electronic information could be interpreted to create correspondingly higher standards of reasonableness for electronic storage of confidential information. However, there is still an important lesson to be learned from this analogy: as the worlds of technology and employment and labor law interact on an ever-increasing basis, the law of the briefcase will evolve to account for the new electronic realities of the workplace. Who knows: maybe someday the concepts of social media or cloud computing may be as common and settled as the briefcase is today!
Technology in the Workplace
- Court Says Porn on Work Computer Is Grounds for Firing (Wired)
- If You Doze During A Meeting, Microsoft's Got Your Back (Fast Company)
- Survey says: More people are going online to find work (Employer Handbook)
- Tech Giants Face Antitrust Action Over Workers' Pay (EmploymentLaw360)
- The Ninth Circuit Clarifies Application Of The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act Favorably For Employers (Sheppard Mullin Labor & Employment Law Blog)
- Technology, the Workplace and Bin Laden (Connecticut Employment Law Blog)
- Jumping the Gun on Employee Internet Activity (Delaware Employment Law Blog)
- HOW TO: Get Your Employees On Board With Your Social Media Policy (Mashable)
- No unemployment benefits for woman fired for Facebooking at work (Employer Handbook, Lawffice Space)
- Managing Employees' Use of Personal SmartPhones and Tablets for Work (Workplace Privacy Counsel)
- 3 common-sense social-media tips to share with your employees (Employer Handbook)
- Reuters Reaches Deal With Union, Avoids NLRB Fight (EmploymentLaw360)
- Technology in Labor and Employment Law: Day 1 and Day 2 (Labor Related)
- Another Sony Service Breached By Hackers (Privacy & Information Security Law Blog)
- New Tool in Social Media Discovery (JDs Rising)
- Suit Says Facebook Violates NY Law When Minors Like Products Without Parents OK (ABA Journal)
- Tweet deletion may lead to tampering with evidence charges (Shear on Social Media Law)
- Turning to Social Networks for News (NY Times)
- A New Kissing Device Lets You Make Out Over The Internet (Fast Company)
- Military Blogging Goes Mainstream (NY Times)
- Trying to Stir Up a Popular Protest in China, From a Bedroom in Manhattan (NY Times)
- Hackers Claim to Have PlayStation Users Card Data (Bits)
The information contained in this post is provided to alert you to legal developments and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Specific questions about how this information affects your particular situation should be addressed to one of the individuals listed. No representations or warranties are made with respect to this information, including, without limitation, as to its completeness, timeliness, or accuracy, and Lathrop GPM shall not be liable for any decision made in connection with the information. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.
Technology, Law, and the Workplace: Week in Review
This week's round-up seems to focus on the small world of the tech industry. It's a small world after all!
Technology in the Workplace
- Online job listings grow, but Minnesota trails (MSP Business Journal)
- NLRB Holds Employee's Secret Recording of Meeting is Protected Activity (Wisconsin Labor & Employment Law Blog)
- DOJ Finds Non-Solicit Agreements Among High-Tech Employers Violate Antitrust Law (Wisconsin Labor & Employment Law Blog)
- Leaders: Is Your Workplace Facebook Worthy? (Forbes)
- Google Introduces New Social Tool and Settles Privacy Charge (NY Times)
- Right of Publicity and Right of Privacy After Death (Digital Passing)
- A Victim, Her Picture and Facebook (NY Times)
- Facebook Prepares to Add Friends in Washington (NY Times)
- Massachusetts Attorney General Reaches $110,000 Data Breach Settlement with Boston Restaurant Group (Privacy & Information Security Law Blog)
- Cellphone Radiation May Alter Your Brain. Let's Talk. (NY Times)
- Smartphone Market Expected to Soar in 2011 (Bits)
- Crowdsourcing a Better World (Opinionator)
- Two Twitter Founders Trade Places (Bits)
- Online Mapping Shows Potential to Transform Relief Efforts (NY Times)
- Ethical Quandary for Social Sites (NY Times)
- Paul Baran, Internet Pioneer, Dies at 84 (NY Times)
The information contained in this post is provided to alert you to legal developments and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Specific questions about how this information affects your particular situation should be addressed to one of the individuals listed. No representations or warranties are made with respect to this information, including, without limitation, as to its completeness, timeliness, or accuracy, and Lathrop GPM shall not be liable for any decision made in connection with the information. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.
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