Firms crack down on staffers' posts on social media sites
Business Law
Domino's still has nightmares about a prank video posted on the social networking site, YouTube, that got two employees in trouble with the law and tarnished the pizza chain's reputation.
The Ann Arbor-based company became an instant Internet sensation in April 2009 after one franchise employee filmed another sticking cheese inside his nose, sneezing on the food and implying it would be delivered to customers from the store they worked at in Conover, N.C.
Both were fired, and the store closed several months later after sales dropped 50 percent. The two former employees were charged with contaminating food distributed to the public. Michael Setzer, 32, was found guilty and sentenced to 24 months of probation in March. Kristy Hammonds, 31, who was banned last fall from college, is still awaiting trial.
The YouTube episode "certainly was a wake-up call," Domino's spokesman Chris Brandon said. "Now we monitor (social media sites) every day. Someone on my team, it's their full-time job to monitor what's being said."
The episode reflects a growing problem of workers across the country, including in Metro Detroit, who like to gossip about the workplace on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This has resulted in employers increasing sanctions against employees.
This year, 21 percent of companies with 1,000 or more workers have disciplined employees for violating social networking policies, compared with 13 percent in 2008, according to a survey by Proofpoint Inc., an e-mail security company in Sunnyvale, Calif. About 9 percent have fired an employee for these violations, more than double from 4 percent two years ago.
"For every case you see in the news, it's really just the tip of the iceberg," said Keith Crosley, director of market development for Proofpoint. "There are many more investigations and breaches that you never hear about."
In at least one case, a worker got into trouble for a photo that seemed to have nothing to do with his job.
Related listings
-
Coal companies eye targeting congressional Dems
Business Law 07/29/2010A leading Appalachian coal company is asking its counterparts to pool their money for a political offensive against Democrats in Kentucky and West Virginia.International Coal Group is calling on other mining companies to join an initiative that would...
-
Goldman profit slides on SEC charge, revenue drops
Business Law 07/20/2010Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter net income dropped 83 percent to $453 million as its trading revenue fell and it booked a charge for its settlement of civil fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The compan...
-
BP Sued Over Employee Stock Plan Losses After Spill
Business Law 06/29/2010BP Plc was sued by members of its employee savings plan over losses tied to the company’s plunging stock price amid the oil leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.BP has lost more than half of its market value since the April 20 explosion that caused th...
Victorville CA DUI defense Attorneys
The outcome of a DUI defense will have a long-term effect on anyone’s life, making the decision to receive legal representation an easy one. The fact is, most people accused of a DUI are first offenders with no criminal background. Whether this is your first run in with the law or you have had previous convictions, you are in need of a DUI defense attorney.
The charges you are facing for a DUI range from fines, a 12-month suspension on your license and worst-case scenario, prison time. Your attorney will be able to analyze your situation to decide the best way to go about your case.
Our attorneys know the tricky ways to challenge all of the DUI tests and know how to claim improper collection of evidence. We will be able to negotiate on your behalf and free you from charges and help you keep your drivers license. The DUI process can last up to several months, we can make this process easier on you. .