As we have frequently reported in this blog, social media privacy issues increasingly permeate the workplace. For example, earlier this year, Montana and Virginia joined a growing number of states in enacting laws restricting employer access to the social media accounts of applicants and employees. With Governor Dannell Malloy’s approval of similar legislation in Connecticut on May 21, the Constitution
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Aspects of Private Social Media Groups May Be Protectable Under Illinois Trade Secret Law
In Illinois federal court, a plaintiff alleged aspects of their LinkedIn group were trade secrets misappropriated by the defendant. The defendant moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The court denied the motion in part and granted in part, ruling that portions of social media groups may be protectable under the state’s trade secret law. CDM Media USA,
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Don’t Tweet On Me! Montana and Virginia Become Latest States to Pass Social Media Privacy Legislation
By Adam Vergne and Chuck Walters
Following a national trend, Montana and Virginia have become the nineteenth and twentieth states to enact laws restricting employer access to the social media accounts of applicants and employees.[1]
Virginia’s law, which takes effect on July 1, 2015, prohibits requesting (or requiring) the disclosure of usernames and/or passwords to an individual’s social media
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Employee Social Networking: Protecting Your Trade Secrets in Social Media Webinar
On Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. Central, in the fourth installment of our 2015 Trade Secret Webinars, Seyfarth attorneys John Tomaszewski, Eric Barton and Joshua Salinas will address the relationship between trade secrets, social media, and privacy.
The Seyfarth panel will specifically address the following topics:
- Defining, understanding, and protecting trade secrets in social media, including a deeper
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How Far Does the “Internet of Things” Reach?
With the FTC’s 2015 report “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World” (“Report”) the idea that more than just computers and phones are able to connect to the Internet. In fact, the Report states that the “IoT explosion is already around us.” This is true, and the Report goes on to describe some
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First United Kingdom Decision on Tweeting in Workplace
Season’s Tweetings
In the first UK high court decision on tweeting, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that dismissal of an employee for offensive posts on his private twitter account could potentially justify termination under the UK’s unfair dismissal rules.
The employee was dismissed after a colleague raised an anonymous complaint about the content of his tweets. The Court held
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2014 Trade Secrets Webinar Series Year in Review
Throughout 2014, Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s dedicated Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes Practice Group hosted a series of CLE webinars that addressed significant issues facing clients today in this important and ever changing area of law. The series consisted of 10 webinars:
- 2013 National Year in Review: What You Need to Know About the Recent Cases/Developments in Trade Secrets, Non-Compete,
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Trade Secret Attorneys Discuss Latest Issues in Trade Secret Litigation in Corporate Disputes Magazine
On October 1, 2014, Michael D. Wexler and Robert B. Milligan, partners and co-chairs of Seyfarth Shaw’s Trade Secrets, Computer Fraud & Non-Competes practice group participated in a Q&A mini-roundtable from Corporate Disputes Magazine on current trends in trade secret disputes and the steps companies can take to reduce these disputes. Below are fielded questions from the Seyfarth Shaw Reprint
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NLRB Rules That “Liking” A Facebook Comment Is Protected Activity
By Jeffrey A. Berman and Candice T. Zee
The National Labor Relation Board (“Board”) issued its latest decision on social media issues on August 22, 2014. In Triple Play Sports Bar & Grille, 361 NLRB No. 31 (2014), the Board ruled that a Facebook discussion regarding an employer’s tax withholding calculations and an employee’s “like” of the discussion constituted
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Massachusetts Social Media Privacy Bill Hits A (Small) Bump In The Road
Not as widely covered as a bill currently pending before the Massachusetts legislature that would ban employee non-competes in the Commonwealth is a lesser known bill, entitled “An Act Relative to Social Media Privacy Protection” (S.2118), that would prohibit employers from requiring employees or applicants to hand over their social media log-in information, or requiring employees to accept
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