To Post or Not to Post: Employee Rights and Social Media

Employing an interdisciplinary approach this research examines the issue of employee rights in relation to social media policies both on and off the job. The proliferation of the use and forms of social media in the past 5 years has been extensive and governments are seeking to capture its power as a communication and engagement resource. Meanwhile, governments struggle to create appropriate, legal, and meaningful policies related to employee usage and behavior. Social media policies are analyzed with attention to the rights of employees. Content analysis of state government policies provide an overview of the current state of practice and highlights issues of public employee rights. The article includes a discussion of key issues of employee rights, recommendations for practice, and identifies future research needs.