Social media monitoring: Employers on alert after restaurant bath video goes viral

Recently, a TikTok video of a Wendy's employee taking a bath in the restaurant sink went viral on the Internet. Unsurprisingly, the employee was promptly fired. In our age of mass social media activities, the incident serves as a helpful reminder of how companies may be affected by their employees' online behavior—whether on-the-job or not.

Good business practice vs. Big Brother tactic

Companies often wonder whether the law restricts their ability to monitor their employees' social media activities, and if not, whether they should do so. In Tennessee, as in most states, there's nothing wrong with it, and often it's prudent to do so to protect the company brand. It's perfectly fine to check an applicant's social media profile, provided it's not done for the purpose of discriminating based on a protected class. In fact, CareerBuilder has reported that more than 50% of U.S. companies now perform social media background checks as a matter of course.

In terms of monitoring existing employees' social media activity, common sense should prevail. On one hand, it's a good idea to make sure your employees aren't tarnishing the company's image, bad-mouthing it, disclosing confidential information, exposing it to potential liability, or otherwise doing potential harm—especially if their social media platforms indicate they are affiliated with the company. Further, you should make sure former employees have updated their social media profiles so they don't suggest they're still affiliated with the company.