Friday, July 22, 2011

Announcing the publication of Think Before You Click: Strategies for Managing Social Media in the Workplace


It is with great pride and accomplishment that I announce the publication of Think Before You Click: Strategies for Managing Social Media in the Workplace (née HR and Social Media: Practical and Legal Guidance). This book, which I believe is the first of its kind discussing the intersection of social media, HR, and labor/employment law, comprehensively covers the following:

  • What Is Social Media?: An examination of the “Big Four” in social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn): how they are used today, and what’s on the horizon for tomorrow.
  • Drafting the Workplace Social Media Policy: 10 considerations every employer needs to think through before drafting and implementing a workplace social media policy.
  • Hiring and Recruiting: How employers are using social media to locate, vet, and screen potential employees and new hires.
  • Privacy Protections: How privacy and social media interact in the workplace, and the various constitutional, statutory and common law privacy rights implicated by social media.
  • Post-Employment Covenants and Trade Secret Claims: How best to protect confidential information and trade secrets from disclosure via social networks by current and former employees.
  • Litigation: How lawyers are using social media as evidence in litigation against employers.
  • Labor Law: The meaning of protected, concerted activity, anti-solicitation policies, and how the National Labor Relations Board is applying these long-standing principles in an attempt to gut employers’ attempts to regulate what employees about saying about them online.

Having edited the entire book, I can say without reservation that it is a must for any business owner, executive, manager, human resources professional, or attorney who is concerned about the effect social media is having on the modern workplace and the liability risks that flow from it. In short, this book will prove to be an invaluable resource as businesses try to navigate these uncharted waters.

When Thompson first approached me about authoring this book, I candidly told them that I would love to write the book, but my busy practice would not permit the time to crank out the entire tome. For that reason, I am eternally grateful to my team of contributing authors—Seth Borden (Labor Relations Today; @SHBorden), Molly DiBianca (Delaware Employment Law Blog; Going Paperless; @MollyDiBi), Eric Meyer (The Employer Handbook Blog; @Eric_B_Meyer), Philip Miles (Lawffice Space; @PhilipMiles), Rob Radcliff (Smooth Transitions; @robradcliff), and Daniel Schwartz (Connecticut Employment Law Blog; @danielschwartz)—who helped write an amazing book and without whom the book would not have been possible and would not be as good as it is.

Now click over to Thompson Publishing for more information, including how to order a copy.


Written by Jon Hyman, a partner in the Labor & Employment group of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz. For more information, contact Jon at (216) 736-7226 or jth@kjk.com.