We’ve blogged about website translation service in the context of social media and about multilingual professional translation services to obtain certified document translation of multilingual evidence. With the rise in social media, new questions regarding its role in the workplace arise – particularly as to where it fits into world of employment law. Specifically, is the use of social media covered by existing legislation?

Here’s a look at some of the main issues:

Preservation of Proprietary Information: Company proprietary information is legally protected from any unauthorized disclosure or use. One way to protect against this is via a comprehensive social media policy that specifies – with examples – what is and is not allowed.

Diversion from Work: A diversion from work can be considered a breach of one’s professional, statutory duties. Although a single event is not cause for termination, repeat events after documented disciplinary action may be cause. Be sure your internal policy lists the unapproved use of social media during working hours as being in violation of company policy.

Disparaging remarks: Some courts have ruled that a company can terminate an employee who posted offensive remarks against a company or co-workers. However, such terminations have been reversed when it was found that the criticism was reasonable and did not harm the company’s business. In a global marketplace, making this determination will likely require a foreign language translation.

Up Next: Certified Legal Translations, EU Data Protection Legislation and Its Impact on US Companies