A feature story on the front page of The Oklahoman's Business Section was inspired by one of the topics presented during McAfee & Taft's "Spring Training" Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits Seminar on May 21st at the Cox Convention Center.
In the article, entitled "Laws often work against employees who post questionable details online," Oklahoman business writer Paula Burkes examined the topic of electronic monitoring, presented during the seminar by Tony Puckett, labor and employment attorney and firm shareholder.
"Add blogging, or online diaries and social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, to misuse of company e-mail and the Internet as ways employees can get themselves canned," the article begins.
...as employees are sharing more publicly with the world, they’re also seeking privacy from their employers.
“It’s an ironic twist, but an area where the law generally favors employers,” said Tony Puckett, a labor lawyer with McAfee & Taft law firm.
The courts generally agree employers’ business concerns outweigh employee claims that their use of computers and other equipment is confidential, Puckett told attendees. They concur employers have legitimate business reasons — from productivity to liability to potential loss of trade secrets — to monitor use.
In the online version of the article on NewsOK.com, the article also looked at two other presentations during the seminar, including Jacque Brawner Dean's discussion of the latest workers' compensation issues and Dudley Hyde 's session on worker retention.
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