Connecticut Employment Law Blog : Connecticut Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Daniel Schwartz : Stamford, Hartford New Haven, CT

Let's face it: There are still way too many people who think social media and social networking sites are a fad and time-waster.

I mean, how else do we explain the thousands of companies that have strict firewalls at their companies to prevent employees from using these sites.

(And if you think that because you have a firewall, your employees aren't accessing these sites, think again. With iPhones, Droids and other smart phones, employees can do it all anyways if they have one of these devices.)

When I tell people about one oft-repeated statistic, it always seems to perk up their ears: If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth-largest country in the world. 

Yes, Facebook has over 350 MILLION users.  They can't all be teenagers and college kids.

That's not to say that companies ought to open the floodgates and let employees spend all their time playing Bejeweled Blitz or Mafia Wars. (If you don't know about them, consider yourself lucky.)  

But I do think the time has come for companies to start thinking about these issues.  Ultimately, many may want to implement policies and practices that can take advantage of all that these sites DO have to offer and providing employees with needed guidance about what they should and should not be doing with them at work. 

LinkedIn, for example, has become a huge resource for companies for recruiting and hiring. And Twitter may be a great tool for customer service.  

Yes, it may turn out that for some employees, there are very few practical uses of these sites in their day-to-day jobs.  But that doesn't mean that employers shouldn't seriously look at these sites. 

I've covered this extensively before, but two posts over the last week or so, are great guideposts that employers can use to benchmark where they are and where they'd like to go.

• A Law.com article suggest that employers craft a policy that has "distinct goals that take into account the nature of the company and its workforce."  It then provides a number of factors and issues for employers to consider. It echoes what I said at a presentation recently: There is no one size fits all policy; figure out what the business goals are of the company and align your policy to best meet those goals.
• But even better, Doug Cornelius -- of the excellent Compliance Building blog -- has compiled a list of 132 Social Networking policies for employers to mix and match.  It's a terrific resource and should give employers many ideas on how best to craft their policies or guidelines.

Employers have legitimate reasons to be concerned about employees using social media and social networking sites, particularly for non-work related issues.  And there are legal risks associated with these sites are still being analyzed. But ignoring these sites in the hopes that your company will be immune from their spread, is repeating the same mistakes that companies made years ago when e-mail was introduced. 

And we all know how that turned out.

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The Washington Post has a sobering article out this morning about the expected return of swine flu (H1N1) virus in the upcoming weeks.  Indeed, the experts cited in the article basically state that it's not a matter of "if", but "when" this second wave will hit.

While flu viruses are notoriously capricious, making any firm predictions impossible, a new round could hit the Northern Hemisphere within weeks and lead to major disruptions in schools, workplaces and hospitals, according to U.S. and international health officials.

"The virus is still around and ready to explode," said William Schaffner, an influenza expert at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who advises federal health officials. "We're potentially looking at a very big mess."

And for those employers awaiting the development of a vaccine, the article suggests that the first batches may not be ready until the flu's expected peak in October.

The first batches of swine flu vaccine are not expected to become available until mid-October, assuming studies indicate it is safe and effective. And officials have yet to answer many key questions, including how many doses will be needed. If it is two, as many suspect, it could take at least five weeks after the first shot before vaccinated people are fully protected.

For employers, thus, now is the time to review your contingency planning and finalize your policies on how you will address things such as a sick person at the workplace or mass absences for a period of time.

Late last week, the CDC released updated guidance for businesses of all types regarding the H1N1 virus. While the guidance isn't revolutionary, it does provide some specific steps for employers to take.  Among them: 

• Encourage sick workers to stay home and away from the workplace, and provide flexible leave policies.
• Encourage infection control practices in the workplace by displaying posters that address and remind workers about proper hand washing, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette. These posters can be found on the Germ Stopper: Posters and Other Materials page.
• Provide written guidance (email, etc.) on novel influenza A (H1N1) flu appropriate for the language and literacy levels of everyone in the workplace. Employers should work closely with local and state public health officials to ensure they are providing the most appropriate and up-to-date information (e.g., the CDC H1N1 Flu website).
• Provide sufficient facilities for hand washing and alcohol-based (at least 60%) hand sanitizers (or wipes) in common workplace areas such as lobbies, corridors, and restrooms.

The next few months may be challenging, but preparation -- not panic - is key to this next wave of flu that is predicted.

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The news over the weekend suddenly took a serious and, for many, scary turn over the weekend with the prospect of a pandemic flu (known right now as Swine Flu) appearing more likely than it has been since the SARS outbreak several years back.  

For employers, flu preparedness has been something that has been talked about for many years. But I'm taking a guess that for many employers, this was always something that they would get around to later.  

So, regardless of whether this swine flu hysteria is for real or not (and note that no Connecticut cases have been confirmed), employers can and should take the time now to educate themselves about the resources out there and develop a contingency plan to adapt their business to the possibility of a flu epidemic for the weeks and months to come.  

The government, fortunately, has been preparing for this possibility and there are already existing websites for employers to review.

The best is from the Centers for Disease Control directly, which has a "Workplace Planning" page for employers addressing pandemic flu.  I highly recommend it.

Among the resources available on that site:

• A Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (which discusses policies to implement during a pandemic and how to communicate effectively with your employees);
• An FAQ on Frequent Workplace Questions; 
• A Summary of What to Expect During a Flu Pandemic.

For Connecticut employers, the Department of Public Health has also put out guidance for employers on Pandemic Flu Preparedness.  There is also a handout that you can distribute to your employees that is bilingual. Frankly, it can't hurt to distribute it this week to start educating your workforce about this.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has a list of questions and issues that employers should be considering now about the pandemic flu.  Among the suggestions:

• Identify your company's essential functions, which might include accounting, payroll, and information technology, and the individuals who perform them.  Cross-train employees to perform essential functions to ensure resiliency.
• Plan for interruptions of essential governmental services like sanitation, water, power,
  and transportation, or disruptions to the food supply. For example, your employees
  might need back-up plans for car pools in case mass transit is interrupted.
• Update sick leave and family and medical leave policies and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill.  

A lot of what's going to happen over the next few weeks and months is still unknown right now.  Add a deep recession to the mix and you don't need a crystal ball to know that things could get tricky fairly quickly.  

In the upcoming days and weeks, I'll continue to update this blog with more information. For now, education and preparation are crucial to ensuring that your business can function during what may be a tough time ahead.   

(Photo Copyright Daniel A. Schwartz 2009 - at Vermont State Fair)

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While everyone remains focused on the budget dilemma at the state legislature, other business -- slowly and quietly -- is still occurring. 

Late last month, the House unanimously passed H.B. 6185, a measure that would create civil penalties for employers that do not provide access to personnel files of their employees. 

Specifically, this bill subjects any employer, officer, agent, or other person who violates the provisions of the Personnel Files Act to a $300 civil penalty for each violation.

The Labor Department imposes the penalty and can ask the attorney general to initiate civil action to recover any unpaid penalties.

The bill now moves on to a Senate vote where, if it gets put on the calendar, its prospects seem strong.  Nevertheless, many bills never make it to a vote so its eventual passage is no sure thing.

For employers, compliance with the Personnel Files Act should be routine.  I've previously discussed the basics of personnel files in posts here and here. 

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