Labor & Employment Law

Survey on Blog Firings

By Michael Fitzgibbon

Thanks to Rob Hyndman for pointing me to a recent Wired post reporting on a recent Proofpoint survey which concludes that "nearly ten percent of companies have fired an employee for violating corporate blogging or message board policies, and 19 percent have disciplined an employee for the same infractions". 

I find that number high.  Just looking at my own practice, I've seen far more email related terminations than blog terminations by a significant factor.  I suspect though, as "on-line bullying" makes it way from the classroom to the workplace, the issue will become more prominent. 

As an aside, there's a disturbing commercial on TV in Canada dealing with bullying in schools that really hits home.  It's a kid at home, sitting in his room and some other kid standing beside him yelling at him that "he's a looser" and "useless" and so on.  The message: you don't turn it off when you leave school.  The same applies to the workplace with respect to harassment or bullying.  With technology being used as a weapon, employers will have to be increasingly vigilant.

Thanks again Rob.

Full post as published by Thoughts from a Management Lawyer on July 23, 2007 (boomark / email).