Liability lurks in positive employee references on social media: Advisen

An employer offering an employee a positive recommendation through social media is exposing the employer to potential liability, Advisen warns.
In its OneBeacon-sponsored report, Social Media: Employers’ Liability for the Activities of their Employees, Advisen said the potential for a company to be involved in a lawsuit alleging defamation from a negative reference is fairly clear, but positive references are not without risk as well.
Many organizations have policies in place that prohibit employees from providing references. But social media sites like LinkedIn have created a feature by which an employee can easily provide a recommendation that is against company policy and without employer control over the content of the reference.
“For example, if an employer terminated an employee for poor performance and was currently being sued by that employee for wrongful termination, a positive recommendation by a supervisor or manager could hinder its defence that the termination was in fact for poor performance,” it said.
To mitigate this risk, Advisen suggested organizations implement a policy that prohibits employee recommendations via social media sites without approval from Human Resources.
“The reality is that social media use by employees in the workplace is here to stay,” the report says. “Social media technology is constantly evolving, [and] for this reason it is important that an employer understands its exposures, stays on top of the trends and issues and makes educated decisions about how best to protect itself.”