EPLI Trends Part II: Employment Liability & Social Media

EPLI Trends Part II: Employment Liability & Social Media

Employment-related risks have grown with the use of social media. While it is a great marketing tool that allows companies to reach a level of branding that was previously unheard of, it also increases a company’s liability.

The average social media user creates more than 90 pieces of new content a month. Over 30 billion pieces of content are shared every month. That’s a million more reasons that you should be careful about your company’s social media policy and EPLI. Here are some issues that could arise with social media & employees.

Employee Recruitment. It is not unheard of for employees to Google applicants as background research when making their suggestion. And while applicants can’t have any expectations of privacy for what they post publicly online, employers do have to make sure they don’t use the information in illegal ways, or make decisions based on race, color or religion. Employers also cannot force candidates to divulge their profile password and information as part of the job process.

Employee’s use of social media. While the information employees post on their social media profiles is public information, disciplining employees who post negative comments about the firm should be done cautiously. Firms must make sure their social media policy doesn't violate employees personal privacy rights but also protects the company.

Firm use of social media. Companies should have a detailed social media policy that covers what type of information should be posted, by who, and guidelines for general conduct online. This can help avoid compromising any sensitive company information or issues with employees.

Companies can no longer easily monitor the actions of their employees, whether on their own site or operation official company pages. It is essential to have a detailed best practices policy for regulating employees’ social media use at work.

But sometimes even the best laid plans can go awry. PL Risk Advisors offers clients in all classes of business a competitive EPLI product designed to cover legal fees, settlements and damage awards that result from EPLI claims. Contact us today for more information.