Excerpted from Georgia Employment Law Letter, written by attorneys at the law firm Ford & Harrison LLP

Blog is short for weblog. It's a Web-based publication that can be the creation of either one individual or a large group. There are millions of personal blogs in the United States, and the number is increasing rapidly. Some bloggers write about their work life or workplace. This article explores various issues you face when confronted with blogging at work.

Address the issue now

A number of employers have created blogs for employee use, and blogging is permitted on company computers at work. Employers that permit blogging at work should establish policies or expand their Internet and computer use policies to address blogging by including the following points:

• There should be no anonymous blogging; writers should identify themselves.
• Use a disclaimer like "The views I express are mine alone and don't necessarily represent the views, values, or opinions of my employer."
• Instruct employees to respect copyright laws.
• Don't allow the company's or anyone else's confidential or proprietary information to be provided.
• Tell individuals they're legally responsible for their own commentary.
• There should be no listings of or references to customers or suppliers without their approval.
• Bloggers should avoid comments that could constitute discriminatory or harassing behavior under company policies.
• Blogging may not interfere with an employee's job duties.

You also may want to consider establishing guidelines or best practices for employees for their personal blogging activity, which could include some of the points listed above.

Generally, you may discipline employees for off-duty conduct that affects the workplace. Whether there are legal restrictions on disciplining an employee for specific conduct is fact-intensive. Employees might claim that such discipline would be an invasion of their right to privacy.

Another concern would be to ensure equal treatment to avoid allegations of unlawful discrimination.

Recently, a flight attendant was fired for posting on her blog suggestive photographs of herself in uniform on company aircraft. She filed a sex discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that male coworkers posted potentially insensitive material on their blogs without being disciplined.

A potential issue is that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects both union and nonunion employees' right to engage in protected "concerted activities."

Employers violate the Act by discharging or disciplining employees for engaging in protected concerted activities, which may include protesting or criticizing terms and conditions of employment on blogs. Employees can lose the protection of the NLRA, however, if their actions are sufficiently disloyal, reckless, or maliciously untrue.

Bottom line

Blogging issues increasingly will affect the workplace. You should be proactive in establishing policies and guidelines and seek legal advice before disciplining employees for blogging activities.

Copyright © M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. This article is an excerpt from GEORGIA EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER. GEORGIA EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER does not attempt to offer solutions to individual problems but rather to provide information about current developments in Georgia employment law. Questions about individual problems should be addressed to the attorney of your choice. Georgia does not certify specialists in the law, and we do not claim certification in any listed area.