Comments on: Employer Liability for Employee Social Media

By: Emirates Jobs

Emirates Jobs — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

well in order for employees to be familiar in using social media for your business you must provide them a training so that they will knew how to use the social media in promoting your business.

By: francesflynnthorsen

francesflynnthorsen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:53:10 +0000

Racist posting by a real estate licensee goes beyond ethical consideration. It invites a VERY legal discussion about Fair Housing.

Real estate brokerages are held to task regularly for the actions and misadventures of their agents.

The first line of defense for a brokerage in matters involving their agents is a comprehensive broker policy and procedure manual. Consider the weight of a policy manual relative to the task of acquiring errors and omission insurance. E&O carriers want brokers to certify agents receive, read, and sign off on brokerage policies.

While most brokerages have a general policy manual in place, most do not have a comprehensive social media policy. (A one- or two-page Netiquette guideline policy does not count.)

Real estate misbehavin' events are daily and available in many flavors:

* Agents encourage consumers to break agency contracts.
* Agents encourage consumers to break purchase contracts and lease agreements.
* Agents utter "unmentionable" statements raising the dreaded antitrust question.
* Agents swipe text, photos, and music in stark violation of copyright law.
* Agents breach client confidentiality.

I think 2010 will be a banner year for the legal eagles in real estate.

By: francesflynnthorsen

francesflynnthorsen — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:53:10 +0000

By: Jennifer Baumann

Jennifer Baumann — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:02:11 +0000

Hi Rob – I think this is great, but here is some food for thought! The legal concept of employer liability may be straightforward in some ways, but the actual application or interpretation of the concept can vary greatly based on the underlying claim (whether it be personal injury or defamation or copyright infringement) and the particular facts of the situation. In my mind, the discussion should be focused on whether a party can make a colorable claim that the employer is liable for the conduct of its employee. So, for example, if a company's employee working in sales (and not social media) makes an alleged defamatory statement against a competitor of its employer on a personal twitter account, the competitor may make an argument that the statement was made within the course of the employee's employment. The employer may argue against liability for the statement (e.g., pointing to the employee's job description) — but, it's too late — the employer is already embroiled in the dispute!

By: » Employer Liability for Employee Social Media | Notorious R.O.B. – Conversations on Marketing, Technology, Real Estate

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:33:51 +0000

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