San Antonio Employment Law Blog : San Antonio Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Thomas Crane Law Firm : South Texas, Bexar County TX Wage & Discrimination Issues

Some time back, I discussed a case where the defendant in a personal injury lawsyit was trying to obtain continued discovery of a plaintiff's Facebook and My Space entries.  See my prior post.  The Houston trial judge had ruled that after the plaintiff changed her settings to private, the defendant could no longer obtain the entries.  The defendant then sought a writ of mandamus to force the trial judge to rule differently.  

The Texas Supreme Court dismissed the writ on Sept. 9, 2011, meaning they reject the appeal for an unspecified reason.  See Texas Supreme Court site.  So, the trial judge's ruling stands: a party cannot continue to seek social media entries after the party changes her settings to privacy. 

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If an employer accesses an employee's social networking site without permission, or worse, accesses the site under threat of termination, then the employer may be liable for a claim of invasion of privacy and violation of the federal Stored Communication Act.  Such was the result in a federal lawsuit in New Jersey.  Delaware Employment Blog explains that the employer noticed a private website on Myspace.  The Myspace page was put up by an employee and was used by many employees to discuss work.  The manager saw negative comments about the restaurant where they all worked.  Management then coerced a co-worker into providing the log in and password.  They later fired two employees for poor attitude based on their comments on the private Myspace page.  Pietrylo v. Hillstone Restaurant Group, Inc.   A jury trial found in favor of the two fired employees and against the restaurant. 

Delaware Blog suggests that it was the act of forcing the employee to give up her login info for a private closed membership site that made this case actionable.  

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 The City of Bozeman, Montana will no longer require Facebook passwords as part of its application process, as reported in Delaware Employment Law blog.  That was a risky decision.  How many applicants would pass up this relatively large employer (in that neck of the woods) if they have to reveal too much.  Too, the city is a government entity.  Requiring a Facebook password would present privacy issues the city need not face.  

But, take this as a warning - there may be more employers out there considering such a measure.  The best protection for any employee is to simply be careful about what you put on Facebook, Myspace, etc.  

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 Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, they are all the rage.  These websites present amazing opportunities to network and stay in touch.  A friend of mine has family all across the US.  They stay in touch with Facebook.  But, for all the possibilities, these websites also present risk.  Chris McKinney explains the risks in his true story of someone who lost a job because of Twitter fun.  But, Michael Maslanka explains how social networking websites are the future and discusses how one company actually allows an hour a week for "facebook" time.  

I kid my son about spending too much time on facebook.  I tell him he does more "work" on Facebook than homework.  Not true, of course, but you see my point.  Shoot, I have my own Facebook page.  It really is a great way to stay in touch or re-connect with old friends.  But, like all concerned employment lawyers, I have to warn you all that there are indeed risks.....

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