Very good article by Michael Maslanka,
a lawyer in Dallas (also a Cornell alum) specializing in labor and
employment law, on tapping into the power of employee blogs. The
article is also interesting because it considers some ramifications of
censoring blogs per different state laws. This should be of particular
interest to both those looking at the growth of corporate blogs and 21Publish customers, as 21Publish has been helping customers set up turnkey, hosted employee blogs portals such as Mercury Interactive and PackNation / Summit Publishing
(more big organization names in the US to be announced by the end of
this month ... knock on wood). A very interesting snip here: Yes,
a C-level executive can blot-out a blogger. Butbe careful. Although
Texas has no restriction on disciplining or firingemployees for
blogging, doing so in other states is more problematic.New York law
prohibits discipline or discharge based on off-duty,out-of-office
activity, which presumably includes blogging. The testcase is out
there, just waiting to be sprung on an unsuspectingemployer. Or look at
employees using blogs to discuss wages orbenefits, or a much disliked
supervisor, with other employees. If thereis any suggestion that the
blogger is expressing a view shared by otheremployees, then he's
arguably engaged in protected activity under theNational Labor
Relations Act (which also covers employees without aunion) and can't be
fired or disciplined for it.
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