Social Media: Protecting Employer Information Versus Employee Privacy
This session will provide an analysis of the key legal, IT, and HR issues related to workers' privacy and organizations' information security as you decide to what degree you are going to restrict, monitor, and scrutinize employees, applicants, and litigants both inside and outside your organization's physical and virtual walls. Your right to limit and act on your employees' personal social-networking postings as well as the implications and rewards of bring-your-own-devices will be discussed. This session will provide:
· An update on key judicial and legislative developments in the area of social media
as it relates to potential employment and labor issues.
· Analysis of practical technological barriers and best practices to monitor and appropriately restrict
the use (or misuse) of social media in the workplace.
· “Hot areas” for potential litigation as well as ways to minimize potential suits.
Douglas Towns
Douglas M. Towns is an Employment & Labor Partner at Sherman & Howard LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. With more than 20 years of experience, Doug exclusively represents employers in all employment and labor areas, including the following:
- Counseling companies on US and global employment issues involving all aspects of employment law, including, social media, reductions-in-force, immigration compliance, discrimination issues, complex hiring, disciplinary, and termination issues, and executive employment contracts. He regularly assists client with public accommodation audits under Title III of the ADA, immigration audits by ICE, OSHA investigations, glass ceiling audits and OCFFP compensation reviews, and senior-level harassment and discrimination investigations.
- Defending employers in complex employment litigation, including class actions and multi-plaintiff employment discrimination lawsuits, wage-hour collective actions, and state law tort and contract claims. He has represented employers in state and federal courts, arbitrations, appellate courts, and administrative agencies, including the OFCCP and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
- Counseling and litigating on the range of legal issues arising from restrictive convents, trade secrets, and the protection of intellectual and human capital.
- Representing management during union organizing efforts, at the bargaining table, and in labor disputes, including emergency injunctions and in interest arbitrations.
Doug has written extensively on employment law, class and collective actions, management of complex employment litigation, e-discovery, mental disabilities, employment issues in corporate acquisitions, contingent workers, immigration compliance, and challenges to the OFCCP’s compensation analysis. He has spoken at more than 250 employment law programs, conducted in-house management training programs, and appeared on CNN “Headline News” as an employment law commentator.
He is also actively involved in the community and on several boards, including serving as General Counsel for Angel Flight Soars, which provides free medical transportation to those in need.
Doug graduated from Emory University and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia where he served on the Virginia Law Review.