WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE AN ARBITRATOR’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL NETWORKING - Dispute Resolution Journal - Vol. 66, No. 4
Robert L. Arrington is chairman of Wilson Worley Moore Gamble & Stout PC in Kingsport, Tenn., where he has practiced law for 36 years. His law practice includes labor and employment law and business litigation. He serves on the American Arbitration Association’s roster of neutrals for commercial and employment cases.
Aaron Duffy, an associate at Wilson Worley, practices in the areas of employment and commercial litigation. He lectures on employment law issues for employer and civic groups, drafts social networking policies for employers, and is a co-author of the “Tennessee Human Resources Manual” (American Chamber of Commerce).
Elizabeth Rita is a partner in the boutique employment law practice, Kelly Stacy & Rita, LLC in Denver, Colo. She is also owns In-House Investigations, LLC, and in that capacity has provided neutral thirdparty investigations of workplace complaints, EEOC charges and related issues. Elizabeth has spoken and written on social networking for the American Arbitration Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and NAFSA, an association of international educators.
Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal
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In the age of social media, users have more options to connect with like-minded people and express their opinions, while companies have more channels to promote and sell products and services. What does this mean to the arbitrator? It could mean a new source of evidence, particularly in labor and employment disputes. This article explores the issues involved in cases that pertain to social networking activities and information derived from social media. The authors’advice to arbitrators: It is inevitable that social networking issues will figure more prominently in arbitrations, so they should prepare themselves now by understanding social networking and how it relates to various laws.
Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and linkedIn have exploded in popularity in the last few years. Facebook alone has more than 800 million active users,1 meaning that