Conflicts Between Management and Employee Rights and Expression on Social Media

Date: February 20th, 2019

Speaker: Charif El-Khouri

Often lauded as an agent of change and empowerment, social media is now being increasingly viewed as a mechanism for surveillance and control.

For example, social media empowered employees by offering them a tool to effectively mobilize and a vehicle through which to voice their ideals and values. However, social media can also be a formidable tool for the surveillance and control of employees. In fact, by blurring the limits between one’s private life and the public sphere, social media may force employees to account to their employers for their publications and writings outside of the workplace.

The issue may appear novel when presented in the context of social media, but the underlying legal debate is all but new: where does the law draw the line between free expression and disloyalty to one’s employer?

In an attempt to answer this question, we will examine in this webinar the legal parameters that govern conflicts between the personal values and belief systems of employees and the corporate values and ethics of their employers.