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When Worlds Collide: An Arbitrator's Guide To Social Networking Issues In Labor And Employment Cases - Chapter 21 - AAA Handbook on Labor Arbitration & ADR, 3rd Edition

Author(s): 
Robert L. Arrington
Aaron Duffy
Elizabeth Rita
Page Count: 
20 pages
Published: 
May, 2016
Author Detail: 

Robert L. Arrington is Chairman of Wilson Worley Moore Gamble & Stout PC in Kingsport, Tenn., where he has practiced law for 40 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 is the Vice President of Legal Affairs at Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union.  Among other duties, Aaron leads Human Resources, oversees all dispute resolutions, and drafts policies for the credit union.

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 third-party 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.

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Description: 

Originally from: AAA Handbook on Labor Arbitration and ADR - Third Edition

 

CHAPTER 21

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: AN ARBITRATOR’S GUIDE TO SOCIAL NETWORKING ISSUES IN LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT CASES

Robert L. Arrington, Aaron Duffy and Elizabeth Rita


I. Introduction

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 1 billion active users, meaning that if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world, behind only China and India. As social networking grows, the worlds of social networking and arbitration inevitably will collide with ever increasing frequency.