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Law Firm Warns of Work-related Blogging Risks
Friday, March 11, 2005 Workers using Internet blogs and podcasts to talk about their employers are increasingly at risk of being fired, and their companies are more vulnerable to having confidential information leaked, according to Littler Mendelson, a labor and employment law firm. Few companies have written policies which include references to employees' Web logs known as blogs and recordings called podcasts, but that does not prevent employees from being terminated for telling the Internet world what is on their minds -- or in company files -- according to Littler attorneys. Recent firings of Google and Delta Airlines employees who operated blogs have cast the spotlight on this latest Web trend and its thorny legal issues. BloggersBlog.com recently covered several blog-related firings including the Google blogger and others. "Employees can have a false sense of security, when it comes to postings," said Christopher Cobey, senior counsel in Littler Mendelson's Silicon Valley office. "They mistakenly believe that if they shroud the blog or podcast with anonymity, they are immune from consequences. However, in most states, employment is at-will, meaning employers can fire an employee without cause. Learning that an employee is disloyal to the company may be all an employer will require to exercise its option to terminate the person." Cobey suggests companies incorporate blogging and podcasting policies into their existing guidelines on confidential information, trade secrets and use of company electronic resources. For the estimated eight million Americans writing blogs and their employers, Cobey offers the following advice:
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