Want To Hear A Good Suggestion?

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

The “suggestion box” seemingly goes back to the dawn of time. In 2015, the cardboard carton, manila folder, or plastic shelf physically attached to the outside of the door has been replaced by the virtual, online suggestion box. As Wikipedia describes it:

“The physical box, as a post box, was replaced by electronic places or addresses; like postal service systems replaced, in the 2000s, by e-mail systems. But the traditional function, “obtaining additional comments, questions, and requests,” still exists as demand: collecting information with input from customers and patrons of a particular organization, or means for garnering employee input.”

What employer doesn’t want to better the company? Suggestion boxes are often a great way to garner employee input, as they are generally quick, easy, inexpensive, and mostly effective. Yet, they also can be fraught with suggestions that are worthless or even borderline inappropriate. Social media has dramatically impacted the suggestion process as well, with employers affirmatively creating internal portals and web sites for the specific purpose of allowing employees to offer suggestions on a wide variety of issues relating to the company. We have, thus, transitioned from the physical to the virtual and social, and from the suggestion “box” to the much grander suggestion “program.”

When you create your virtual suggestion program, it is important that you give some thought to how you are going to structure it, who will be responsible for administering it, how you will solicit your suggestions, and what you will do with the suggestions you receive. To be more specific, there are 5 primary areas you should consider:

Wage and Hour Issues. Non-exempt employees must be paid for all time spent actually working, even perhaps under circumstances when they were not expressly authorized to do so. Does your program affirmatively request that certain employees make or solicit suggestions? Under current (federal) DOL guidelines, there is a line drawn between whether the non-exempt employee is developing suggestions during non-working time on his or her own, or has been asked or permitted to work on making or soliciting suggestions.
NLRB Issues (yes, here too). There may be “suggestions” that you find offensive for a variety of reasons, yet you must be cautious not to take adverse action if the suggestion can be considered “protected concerted activity” under the law. In addition, the NLRB has spilled a fair amount of ink on whether a joint employer-employee suggestion committee (if that is how you are structuring your suggestion program) is unlawful because the committee is effectively an employer-dominated labor organization.
Ownership Issues. You should consider who owns the idea and whether the employee must be compensated or rewarded for an accepted suggestion.
Trade Secret Issues. It is not outside the realm of possibility that suggestions and the dialogue that follows may disclose confidential plans in development, or other trade secret or proprietary information of your company. It may be inadvertent, and may even occur if the program is designed for “internal eyes” only.
Other Workplace Conduct Issues. As suggested above, an online suggestion program will not likely be limited to the mere making of suggestions, but in some cases can offer a forum for comments and continuing dialogue about the suggestions. It is certainly not a stretch to imagine such communications, like those made in person, potentially spiraling into statements or conduct that would violate your company’s other policies addressing harassment, discrimination, bullying, and violence in the workplace.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

Like so many issues addressed in this blog, the takeaway should certainly not be that your company cannot or should not implement an online suggestion box or program to take advantage of the benefits that social media offers for employee input and participation. The takeaway is, as I always say, that you just need to consider the relevant issues and give thought to what you are doing.

Indeed, the suggestion box, suggestion program, open-door policy and any other similar nomenclature used for the very salutary purpose of having open communication with your employees and making them feel as if their ideas are being heard, can be a very good thing. But sometimes “no good deed goes unpunished,” which is where the employment lawyers come in to assist your benevolent intentions. Better to take the time to do it right and appropriately, than to just do it.

Michael Schmidt

Michael C. Schmidt is the vice chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department, and the office managing partner, vice chair, of the New York Midtown office, where he is resident. For more than two decades, Mike has concentrated his practice on representing companies and management in all facets of employment law, such as: (i) defense in litigation involving wage and hour (overtime and unpaid compensation), discrimination, harassment, retaliation and whistle-blowing, non-competes and trade secrets, and disability and other leave-related issues; (ii) day-to-day counseling and in-house training on issues from hiring to firing, and other questions unique to his client’s industries and business; and (iii) drafting and reviewing employment agreements, termination and severance agreements, confidentiality and non-competes, and employment policies and manuals.

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Tagged with: DOL, joint employer-employee committee, New York Employment Law, NLRB, online suggestion program, social media and employemnt law, Social Media Blog, suggestion box
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

50 Shades of Great

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

Do you have an Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey working in the same department, late? Do you have Anastasia constantly trying to bond with an unwilling Grey? Or an aggressive Grey with suggestive Facebook messages to Steele? Interesting office.

Employment lawyers tend to have a hard time giving definitive answers when it comes to employment law, instead often giving the “it depends” or that question really involves a “grey area.” When it comes to the workplace and workplace policies, however, employers don’t want grey. They want great.

What a coincidence that the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” came out on Valentine’s Day weekend. If nothing else, it give us an(other) opportunity to remind you of a few things when it comes to love and social media (really Mike?). First: be mindful of office relationships that, while often spontaneous and perfectly acceptable between single adults, can quickly go from consensual to not-so-much. That is true particularly with employees who are on top of each other constantly in the same department, or even more so when there is a dominant-subordinate relationship involving a supervisor.

Some employers turn to “love contracts,” which actually involve a legal document for the two (I’m assuming just two) employees to acknowledge that they are engaged in a consensual relationship, as well as the protocol and process if one decides that he or she no longer wants to be in the relationship and feels aggrieved about anything. Such a document can be a little awkward, but some employers want them as protection in the event of a future lawsuit.

Second: Employees tend to use holidays and events, particularly one like Valentine’s Day as an excuse to try to reach out and touch someone. Some use social media, when it is so much easier and quicker to say things you might not say in person. It is always a good time for your company to remind employees that social media is not the wild, wild west, and that workplace policies involving harassment, discrimination and retaliation still apply. Posting things about some scenes from the movie, or even showing certain portions of the trailer, may be unwelcomed. Whether it’s repeated requests for dates, over-the-top electronic cards, or other charged comments, if the comment, picture or activity would be inappropriate in person, it is similarly inappropriate over social media.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

Open communication with your employees is always a good thing when it comes to managing social media use and employee relations generally. I didn’t say banning, and I didn’t say free-for-all. I said “managing.” Keep your eyes and ears open to employees seeing or talking about this weekend’s new release, and the usual Valentine’s Day stories, and continue to make sure that your workplace is a safe and appropriate environment for everyone. That way you can avoid many of the grey areas and instead enjoy fifty shades of great.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: discrimination, Fifty Shades of Grey, harassment, New York Employment Law, Policies, retaliation, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog, Valentine's Day
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

Seahawks or Patriots – Do Employers Care?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

I certainly don’t really care. My Cowboys ended their year a couple of weeks too early (yes, that was a catch). However, many people do care, for various reasons. There is, of course, the football game itself and the rooting interests that exist. The fact that Tom Brady may win his fourth title after losing his last two opportunities to the Jersey boys, or that the Seahawks can become the first team in years to win back-to-back titles, have piqued the interest of many. There are also some who are waiting to see how the financial markets do this year based on the reported historical trends that have occurred depending on whether the Superbowl is won by the NFC or AFC. From my perspective, there are social media and employment law points to be made. Here goes.

So before I officially move on emotionally to the next sport season, it’s worth finishing this NFL season with a thought on the world’s most popular one-day sporting event: the Superbowl. Fans of their Washington State and Boston/Connecticut/New Hampshire/rest-of-New-England teams obviously have tremendous interest in the February 1^st matchup, but historical ratings show that the rest of the world cares too for financial reasons. Much time will be spent over the next two weeks in person and online trying to make money on the Superbowl. And there’s the blog hook for today. Online technology, and social media in particular, have made it much easier for employees to participate in all things Superbowl, and to sit in the office and participate with those outside the four walls of the office.

If you haven’t been asked to join a Superbowl pool yet, it’s more than likely that it’s not because you have no friends at work. It’ll get to you (more than likely). But are Superbowl pools legal? And is there any impact of social media? Many states exempt “social gambling” from their anti-gambling statutes. “Social gambling” is generally defined as playing for money in a purely social context, where no player (or other person, such as a host) can make anything more or different than from simply being a player like any other player. As long as the entire pool is distributed, with nothing taken “off the top,” it is generally ok in many states.

Nevertheless, the issue of office Superbowl pools and social media raise a few noteworthy points:

1. Loss of Productivity and Time? Superbowl blogging and posting, and surfing the ‘Net for all things Superbowl, will take a lot of time. Time at work, and during working hours.

2. Can Bobby Come Out To Play? Office Superbowl pools should be open to everyone, and shouldn’t be a means for violating other workplace policies, such as by harassing or discriminating against people who choose not to join or who are not asked to join.

3. Social = Social? Permissible “social gambling” generally requires some social relationship, meaning that the promotion of your office pool to those outside the company through social media may lead to a pool that includes those with whom there is no bona fide social relationship.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

There are bigger pictures that your company should consider when it comes to important issues and policies involving gambling and the impact that social media has had on workplace gambling. For this week and next, however, the reality is that this may be just another example of a lawyer turned Superbowl Scrooge, as it is unlikely that the cast of Law & Order will be coming into your establishment merely as a result of the upcoming big game. Perhaps you can just relax a little and allow for the morale of your employees to improve with the excitement and buildup of the year’s biggest one-day event. There are only 9 working days left until the big sports buzz is over, after all. That is, until pitchers and catchers report in about 4 weeks.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: New York Employment Law, Office Pool, online gambling, Patriots, Seahawks, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog, Superbowl
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

It’s Still The Relationships, Stupid – 2014 Wrap Up (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

It is this same time every year, as I am wrapping things up over at “social media and employment law blog” central, that I am reminded of that election campaign more than twenty years ago when Bill Clinton coined the phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Well, the economy is still in a bit of flux, but Clinton’s message still resonates in my mind as I reach the end of another year. Just as I came back to it at the end of last year: “It’s still the relationships, stupid.”

Social media and technology continue to be great things. Both have revolutionized our lives in ways never before imagined, and, at the same time, have dramatically impacted the relations between employer and employee to an extent that will never go away. Employees are using wearable technology in the workplace, and “selfie” has even been added to our dictionary. We have continued to discuss and dissect many instances in 2014 where employers have been told to toe the fine lines and manage the interplay between social media and employee relations.

For example, making sure your company crafts the narrowly-tailored social media policy that protects your legitimate business interests, while at the same time avoiding the overbroad and undefined terms that may chill your employees from engaging in protected concerted activity. Reaping the benefits of the world wide web as a source of information on applicants, but making sure you don’t learn “too much information.” Maintaining your right to monitor what goes on in your workplace and on your working time, but being mindful of your employees’ privacy rights. And, understanding how compliance with traditional laws such as wage and hour requirements can be increasingly difficult with employee use of social media and technology. The rules and opinions, and the prognosticator do’s and don’ts, will continue to evolve, and most likely repeatedly change, as we dart past another New Year’s Eve in less than two weeks.

But I guess my point at the end of this year too, ironically enough, is to stop reading electronic posts like this for a minute, get your face out of your smartphone or monitor, don’t worry about capturing your hundredth selfie (that same afternoon), and look up to talk to someone. Anyone. Let’s turn off the technology for a moment, and ask why your company is (and will be) ultimately successful. Let’s also ask why your company may be able to successfully avoid legal pitfalls and litigation. The answer: It’s still the relationships, stupid.

I continue to argue that the definition of a “plaintiff” in a lawsuit is a “pissed-off employee.” The more you communicate with your employees, the more you walk and talk the hallways, and the more your relationships with your employees are valued within the bounds of existing law, the more successful your business will be and the more likely it is that you can avoid employment disputes. Valuing, being responsive to, and maintaining your inter-personal relationships with your employees, customers, clients, vendors, and business partners will still prove to be the most important precursor to a successful bottom line.

Employer Take Away: So, what is the final takeaway from 2014? What should you as an employer take away from this development? The rapid explosion of social media, and its impact on the workplace, will never take away from the value of true inter-personal relationships. As great as today’s advances are, it doesn’t always have to be about apps, status updates, and mass communication from behind a keyboard. It also doesn’t mean that we need to give into technology at the expense of our interpersonal relationships, and the face-to-face communications that still must take place.

Individually, we are no different than we are professionally. We spend so much time connecting to someone who is not in front of us, that it’s easy to ignore what is right in front of us. We are so worried about tomorrow and next week, that the happy, meaningful and productive parts of today go unnoticed. We are so obsessed with typing to the world in words and pictures about where we are and what we’re doing, that we’re not at all focused on precisely where we are, what we’re doing, and who we’re doing it with. To me, we are successful – professionally and individually – through the relationships right in front of us.

So maybe for this holiday season, we can find even an hour to put down the BlackBerry (they still exist?) and iPhone, get to that e-mail or text in a little while, and keep the terrific picture we were about to post solely in our own heads for now. Enjoy the moment right in front of us, as it will always be about those relationships, stupid.

I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to read my blog this year, and I hope that I have provided you with some useful, informative, and perhaps occasionally entertaining insights on the interaction between social media and employment law. I look forward to continuing that effort in 2015. I wish you and your families a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: New York Employment Law, relationships, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

Poetic Justice – 2014 Wrap Up (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

This is the time of year to anxiously look forward to all that is anticipated to come in 2015. But it is also the time to look back at all that has happened in 2014. Rather than simply give you links to all of my stimulating blog entries from the year that has passed (I’m confident you know how to search “archives” on this blog), I thought I would instead do the “2014 Year In Review” in song, as I have done this time the past few years. So, if you know the tune to “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” please close your office door and sing along to this reminder of the many 2014 social media concepts that I leave with you for the holidays:

The 1^st social media

Reminder left for me

Beware still the N-L-R-B

The 2^nd social media

Reminder left for me

Care with office parties

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 3^rd social media

Reminder left for me

Summons served on Facebook

Care with office parties

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 4^th social media

Reminder left for me

Tracking wage and hours

Summons served on Facebook

Care with office parties

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 5^th social media

Reminder left for me

“Like” is free speech?

(dramatic pause)

Tracking wage and hours

Service

Care at party time

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 6^th social media

Reminder left for me

Protecting your data

“Liking” is free speech

Tracking wage and hours

Summons served by MySpace

Selfies at your parties

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 7^th social media

Reminder left for me

Religious expression

Hackers’ got our data

“Like” is free speech!

Tracking wage and hours

Service

Care at party time

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 8^th social media

Reminder left for me

Textual harassment

Religious expression

Data breach is coming

“Like” is free speech

Tracking wage and hours

We’ll find you through your “friends”

Drinking while you’re typing

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 9^th social media

Reminder left for me

He called his boss a scumbag?

Textual harassment

Online religion

Data breach and privacy

“Like” is free speech?

Tracking wage and hours

Service

Photobomb your boss

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 10^th social media

Reminder left for me

Policies are too vague

He can call his boss a scumbag?

Textual harassment

Religious expression

BYOD

“Like” is free speech

Track their wage and hours

Service of your summons

Care at office parties

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 11^th social media

Reminder left for me

Surreptitious access

Overbroad policies

He called his boss a what??

Textual harassment

Collective expression

You lost your laptop where?

“Like” is free speech

Track their wage and hours

Catfish relations

In-box is good service

And beware of the N-L-R-B

The 12^th social media

Reminder left for me

Manage expectations

Surreptitious access

Overbroad policies

He can call me a scumbag?

Textual harassment

Religious expression

Cyber security

“Like” is free speech

Track their wage and hours

Service on LinkedIn

Be careful at your parties

And beware still the N-L-R-B!

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: New York Employment Law, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog, Twelve Days of Christmas", year in review
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

“You’ve Got Served!”

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

Pardon my witty little play on “you’ve got mail!” from 1998. Remember when that booming AOL voice – and what was the 50^th movie teaming Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan – seemingly reflected the start of the Internet communication age? But I digress.

As social media continues to permeate all aspects of our lives (legal and otherwise), courts continue to apply the unique realities of social media to traditional legal issues. One that continues to come up involves the service of process (translation: serving a summons and complaint) at the start of a new lawsuit through a social networking site, rather than by personal delivery or nailing a package to a defendant’s door.

Virtually every state has a service of process statute like New York’s statute, which allows for personal service to be effectuated on a “natural person” in “such manner as the court . . . directs, if service is impracticable under paragraphs one, two and four of this section.” In other words, a court is afforded the ability to be creative when a summons and complaint cannot be served by personal delivery, serving someone of “suitable age and discretion” at the defendant’s home or business, or by nailing and mailing. What once may have been a potentially insurmountable hurdle at the start for a party filing a lawsuit, is now as simple a task as a click and send.

A New York Family Court Judge continued the trend toward allowing the very formal requirement of service of process to be accomplished through the very informal means of social media. In Noel B. v. Anna Maria, the Court noted that the petitioner was unable to physically locate a spouse in the context of a child support proceeding, but knew that the spouse “maintains an active social media account with Facebook.” After describing the nature and extent of social media use today, the court granted the petitioner’s request to serve papers through social media:

“However, despite the absence of a physical address, the Petitioner does have a means by which he can contact the Respondent and provide her with notice of the instant proceedings, namely the existence of an active social media account. . . . [T]he Petitioner is to send a digital copy of the summons and petition to the Respondent via the Facebook account, and follow up with a mailing of those same documents to the previously used last known address. The Respondent can receive communications via social media, whereas her actual physical whereabouts are uncertain. The method detailed here by the court provides the best chance of the Respondent getting actual notice of these proceedings.”

So even when you have not “added a location to post” on Facebook, you can still be found.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

Oh yes, we must have an employment law takeaway. So it is this: social media can be used for many different reasons these days in the context of a lawsuit involving individuals (employees) who regularly use social media and social networking sites for personal and business reasons. Whether it is attempting to locate an employee or using pictures and postings against an employee, your company should take advantage of the various strategies involved with social media whenever there is an actual or potential conflict with one of your employees.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: Facebook, New York Employment Law, service of process, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog
Posted in Opinions

A Man Among In-House Counsel

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

I will be attending the 2014 annual meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”) in New Orleans from October 28^th through October 31^st, as my firm is again proud to be a sponsor of the ACC’s annual conference. For those interested, you can follow the events and panels at @ACCinhouse, and tweet using #ACCAM14. For those willing and able to register for the annual meeting (there’s still time), here is a link to do so.

One of the many interesting panels worth attending will involve a discussion on marketing and social media, and the regulatory concerns that may arise when a company engages in online advertising, marketing, testimonials, and promotions. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has been a big player in this arena, having issued guidelines about when and to what extent you or your employees can discuss your company’s products and services through social media, and the potential pitfalls in doing so. The FTC issued guidance materials on these issues effective in December 2009 and more recently in March 2013.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

Social media has clearly changed the conversation from a traditional, one-way description of your company’s products and services to a more collective dialogue with your outside consuming public being engaged and involved in your message. In increasing numbers, companies are also choosing to rely on their own employees to help define how the brand is perceived, and help monitor public reaction to the conversation. This is an area worth watching as new developments continue to arise.

And, for those interested, I will be live tweeting at this and other relevant employment law panels at the ACC meeting, so feel free to follow me at: @MSchmidtEmpLaw.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: @ACCinhouse, #ACCAM14, Association of Corporate Counsel, endorsements, Federal Trade Commission, FTS, New York Employment Law, Social Media And Employment Law, Social Media Blog, testimonials
Posted in General Social Media/Employment Law Discussion

NLRB Still “Likes” Expansive Employee Speech

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Michael Schmidt — No Comments ↓

Unlike many issues, it seems that at least one issue (so far) has the NLRB on the same page as a recent court decision: whether clicking “like” on Facebook amounts to substantive, protectable speech. In my earlier blog posts on May 8, 2012 and October 22, 2013, I discussed a Virginia case where the appellate court, in an 81-page decision, ultimately ruled that to “like” a Facebook page is the 2013 version of protectable speech. However, that case arose out of a Constitutional challenge. How would the NLRB decide the issue when it comes to employee speech under the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”)? You need to ask?

The NLRB has continued its seemingly pro-employee leanings by considering the click of the “like” button to constitute protected concerted activity entitled to protection under the Act. In In re Three D, LLC d/b/a Triple Play Sports Bar, the NLRB agreed that the company violated the Act “by discharging two employees for their participation in a Facebook discussion involving claims that employees unexpectedly owed additional State income taxes because of the [company’s] mistakes.” The case seems to clearly involve protected activity inasmuch as the employees’ discussion involved the company’s practice relating to, or at least impacting, wages. The question became whether the employees who “liked” the employees’ rants were sufficiently adopting the content of those rants to be protected under the Act.

On that issue, the NLRB noted that, while clicking “like” may be “more ambiguous” than engaging in the actual discussion, nevertheless it still constitutes “expressing agreement” with the co-worker’s original complaint.

Employer Take Away: What should you as an employer take away from this development?

The company in that case has since petitioned the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for a possible appellate analysis of whether “liking” something is necessarily akin to substantive discussion or adoption of substantive content, and the extent to which employees criticizing a company through social media may lose the Act’s protection. Depending on the Second Circuit’s decision, this may be the first opportunity for judicial guidance on the NLRB’s recent expansive view of social media and protected concerted activity. Other positions taken by the NLRB over the past couple of years, such as the permissible scope of workplace policies, class action waivers, etc., and the appropriate deference owed to the NLRB, will also be at stake. Keep watching.

Michael Schmidt

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Tagged with: employment law, Facebook, like, New York Employment Law, social media, Social Media Blog, speech, Triple Play Sports Bar
Posted in Opinions