Banking Law

Although this article does not discuss problems that are confined to employees of banks, it's apropos of a talk I gave Friday on, among other related topics, the problems that can arise when employees of banks use social media. According to The Wall Street Journal, "oversharing" on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter about your employer can get you fired.

One of the most dramatic tales that surfaced this month was the unnamed woman in the UK who was fired after she insulted her boss and wrote ?OMG I HATE MY JOB!!? in a Facebook status update, without realizing that he was her Facebook friend.

Her boss responded on Facebook: ?You also seem to have forgotten that you have 2 weeks left on your 6 month trial period. Don?t bother coming in tomorrow?.And yes, I?m serious.? Screenshots of the whole Facebook exchange has spread virally all over the Web.

That comment on the employee's "wall" by her "friend" must have brought home to the hapless Facebook user one of the all-time "oops" moments in the history of foot-in-the-mouth disease.

?You definitely want to make sure that you?re aware of your employer?s electronic communication policy if they do have one,? says CareerBuilder spokeswoman Jennifer Grasz. ?People may be tweeting about their company, or maybe they?re?not realizing that there should be a separation between what they?re talking about socially and what they?re talking about professionally.?

Memo to banks: If you don't already have a policy about the use of social media by employees, think long and hard about implementing one.

Memo to bank employees: Think before you Tweet. Seriously.