Even The 21st Century Water Cooler Has Rules

By Kerri A. Wright and Raquel S. Lord

Law360, New York (January 13, 2012, 12:44 PM ET) -- Social media has been likened to the water cooler of the 21st century. And while this seems to be the way the National Labor Relations Board would like to classify social media posts by employees, it is likely not how most employers would view such posts. Indeed, unlike the water cooler at the end of the hallway, accessible only to a company’s employees, social media posts (such as those appearing every day on Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn and Twitter) are accessible to a much broader audience — one with whom employers likely do not want to share certain information, including former employees, current, potential, or past customers and clients as well as competitors.