Can the employer determine what the employee can show as job on social media site?
Question: Can an employer tell an employee to change her information on Linked In relating to her job title and duties, particularly if the employee is performing most of the duties indicated?
Answer: Whether an employer can require an employee to change her LinkedIn information relating to her employment will depend on the employer’s social media policy. Social media policies establish, inter alia, what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate use of social media and set out the consequences of failure to abide by same. Social media policies should be a staple in all employment relationships, as social media and consequences that flow from it continue to expand.
If the social media policy addresses the contents of an employee’s social media profile in their capacity as representing the employer on LinkedIn, and the request to modify the employee’s job title and duties is reasonable to obtain the purposes of the policy, the employer’s request will likely be found to be lawful. In this case, an employer will be able to request that the job title and duties on the LinkedIn profile reflect those that the employee is in fact performing. The level of appropriate discipline for a failure to abide by the employer’s request will depend on the facts of each case, including the employer’s social media policy.
Courts have been clear that an employee’s off-duty conduct on social media can be cause for dismissal where it prejudices the employer’s business interests or reputation. For example, one employee’s termination was upheld for criticizing the conditions of the retirement home where she worked online. An employee’s failure to fully represent her employment duties on social media does not rise to this level notwithstanding the fact that it may have a harmful impact on the employer. Therefore, an employee’s termination for same would likely not be upheld by the courts.
For more information see:
•Chatham-Kent (Municipality) v CAW-Canada, Local 127 2007 CarswellOnt 5078 (Ont. Arb.).
Tim Mitchell practices management-side labour and employment law with Norton Rose Fulbright in Calgary. He can be reached at (403) 267-8225 or [email protected].
