has anyone else delt with this?

[Angrist]

I was at work the other day and my manager comes in, there were customers so I was occupied. He hands me this form and asks me to sign it, "it's the companys new online policy, It basicly says that you wont badmouth the company on social network sites." I was busy so I signed without really thinking about it. Now that I am thinking about it, it's really pissing me off, where do they get off telling me what to say on the net, if I want to vent about work, I should be able to without getting hassled by my boss. Has this happend to anyone else?

[RS14]

What did they grant you in return? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration)

(I am not a lawyer; I merely read Wikipedia. I also suggest not telling your boss if you think his contract was unenforceable).

[Starscream]

The solution is easy. Let us badmouth them for you.:smallamused:

[Angrist]

What did they grant you in return? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration)

(I am not a lawyer; I merely read Wikipedia. I also suggest not telling your boss if you think his contract was unenforceable).

I got Jack, I think I'm mostly mad at myself for signing something without reading it first. My manager is an expert at ambushing you when your occupied with somthing else.

[RS14]

Besides, they would probably fire you if you bad-mouthed them online, even without the contract.

[Thajocoth]

Aren't you violating your contract in this very thread?

[arguskos]

Here is my query: how are they possibly going to enforce this? Do they have a method of policing your posting from home? :smallconfused:

[RS14]

Aren't you violating your contract in this very thread?

According to the manager, it applies only on social networking sites.

Besides, he's only bad-mouthing his manager.


Here is my query: how are they possibly going to enforce this? Do they have a method of policing your posting from home? :smallconfused:

I do suggest that you not post anything online from work, as your employer can monitor such things.

[Amiel]

A method of enforcement may entail equating a person's name with their Facebook profile and monitoring that; a argument can be made that this is a substantial breach of privacy. A good idea would be setting your profile to friends only.

[Angrist]

Here is my query: how are they possibly going to enforce this? Do they have a method of policing your posting from home? :smallconfused:

NOt in a forum such as this, but if I have a facebook or myspace pace with links to coworkers they could find out what I've written about them.

[arguskos]

I do suggest that you not post anything online from work, as your employer can monitor such things.
That's just wise in any case, but I was more concerned about the concept of a contract stipulating you shouldn't be posting anything negative... from your own home. :smallconfused:

EDIT: Ah, Facebook random checks. Yet another reason I don't have a Facebook page.

[Flickerdart]

You can still badmouth the company's employees individually, just not it as a corporate entity, no?

[Angrist]

I just want to take this opportunity to say AUTONATION SUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!

Ahh that feels much better.

[Winter_Wolf]

What did they grant you in return? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration)

(I am not a lawyer; I merely read Wikipedia. I also suggest not telling your boss if you think his contract was unenforceable).

They let him keep his job. Sorry, had to say it. It's one of those situations where you either sign it and they hold it over you, or you don't, and they start finding ways in which you're "not a team player" or have an "attitude problem", or you generally get crapped on more and more until you quit in disgust. The fact is, I've noticed that with things the way they are, employers are doing a lot of things that they shouldn't be getting away with; they're exploiting people's fears of waking up and finding out they don't have a job anymore.

Frankly being self employed is a lot more work than being a wage slave, but it's still preferable much of the time.

[Boo]

Frankly being self employed is a lot more work than being a wage slave, but it's still preferable much of the time.

If only "winning the lottery" was an applicable career choice.

[RS14]

They let him keep his job. Sorry, had to say it. It's one of those situations where you either sign it and they hold it over you, or you don't, and they start finding ways in which you're "not a team player" or have an "attitude problem", or you generally get crapped on more and more until you quit in disgust.

Oh, certainly. But that's probably not specified in the contract explicitly, in which case there may be a lack of consideration which may mean the contract is unenforceable.

[Dr.Epic]

Aren't you violating your contract in this very thread?

He's yet to name the company. To us, it's just some generic company. We have no idea who this guy is and how could his bosses find out who he is?

[Thajocoth]

He's yet to name the company. To us, it's just some generic company. We have no idea who this guy is and how could his bosses find out who he is?

Are you sure?


I just want to take this opportunity to say AUTONATION SUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!

Ahh that feels much better.

[Superglucose]

Besides, they would probably fire you if you bad-mouthed them online, even without the contract.
In the United States this is highly unlikely to happen. For example, "I hate working for XYZ company because the process they use to file for vacation time is really annoying." At least in the US (as far as I know) getting fired for that leads to a really messy legal situation which is probably going to hurt the company far more than letting someone vent on Facebook about petty annoyances at work.

Seriously, can you imagine how quick "Coca-cola fired me because I gave them a negative review on New Coke in my blog" would be on the news? And in such bad publicity?

[RS14]

In the United States this is highly unlikely to happen. For example, "I hate working for XYZ company because the process they use to file for vacation time is really annoying." At least in the US (as far as I know) getting fired for that leads to a really messy legal situation which is probably going to hurt the company far more than letting someone vent on Facebook about petty annoyances at work.

Seriously, can you imagine how quick "Coca-cola fired me because I gave them a negative review on New Coke in my blog" would be on the news? And in such bad publicity?

Depends on where you are in the US, but generally they can fire you at-will, for no particular reason. Also, I'm not certain that it would be illegal to fire for such a reason anyway. Wikipedia's wrongful dismissal, article, though UK centric, does not list such a reason as a sufficient condition for wrongful dismissal. I could be wrong, though.

[Keld Denar]

I have yet to sign a work agreement that didn't have an "at will" clause in it, which basically states that employer or employee can terminate the agreement at any time, without cause.

Maybe thats just life in engineering, or the construction business, but yea, its always been there throughout the 4 companies I've ever worked for in my life, including the most recent.

[Ravens_cry]

If only "winning the lottery" was an applicable career choice.
Oh it is, if you took Manipulating Probability 101 at MIT.
Mordenkainen's Institute of Thaumaturgy that is.

[arguskos]

Oh it is, if you took Manipulating Probability 101 at MIT.
Mordenkainen's Institute of Thaumaturgy that is.
Great victory, this post contains. Approve of it, Yoda-kos does.

[Krade]

Depends on where you are in the US, but generally they can fire you at-will, for no particular reason. Also, I'm not certain that it would be illegal to fire for such a reason anyway. Wikipedia's wrongful dismissal, article, though UK centric, does not list such a reason as a sufficient condition for wrongful dismissal. I could be wrong, though.

It varies from state to state. Indiana, for example, is an 'at-will' employment state. Basically, you can be not hired or fired for any or no reason, discrimination be damned. I suppose that's one good thing about working for a corporation based outside of the state. That means they follow policy more than just what they can get away with.

[thubby]

if you really want to dispute it, you could probably argue you didn't give informed consent.
you were clearly under duress. what's more, i imagine your boss had opportunities to bring this up while you weren't otherwise occupied.

then again, the fact that your boss would do something so sleazy to begin with would be enough for me to quit (if it's just a joe job), or take it up with his boss.

[_Zoot_]

It may be that they would only bother enforcing it if they find that you have been saying really nasty things about the company, not if they discovered that you had said something little.

[742]

what company do you work for and whats your bosses name? everyone has dirt, and with the emergence of mobile culture and social networking most people dont even think to hide it; even if they think to do it most dont have any idea how to actually go about that properly. maybe its company policy and your boss might be in a teensy bit of trouble.

[Jimorian]

The biggest way Borders Books employees find out about the LiveJournal community for complaining about the company is when managers warn them not to read it. :smallwink:

All these types of efforts to control publicity ultimately backfire. There was a semi-recent story about a doctor who made his patients sign a form giving him copyright of any reviews they posted about him on medical ratings web sites so that he could issue a DMCA takedown notice on any negative comments.

In the end, the best way to avoid being talked negatively by your employees is to treat them right in the first place. There will always be a few complaints, some justified, some not, but the best counter to them is always having enough people who can offer a positive viewpoint, and willingly do so because they like it there.

[mucat]

The biggest way Borders Books employees find out about the LiveJournal community for complaining about the company is when managers warn them not to read it. :smallwink:
Heheh. Absolutely true.

So what you do is, you go online and vigorously defend your company. Specifically, you start posting that you do not believe that thing they say about your company's product and the radioactive rat feces. Also, your CEO is a dedicated family man, and that rumor about him, the three hookers, and the Shetland pony cannot possibly be true. :smallwink:

[Narmoth]

I was at work the other day and my manager comes in, there were customers so I was occupied. He hands me this form and asks me to sign it, "it's the companys new online policy, It basicly says that you wont badmouth the company on social network sites." I was busy so I signed without really thinking about it. Now that I am thinking about it, it's really pissing me off, where do they get off telling me what to say on the net, if I want to vent about work, I should be able to without getting hassled by my boss. Has this happend to anyone else?

Basically you will have to talk with him / her and tell him that you are upset over signing a contract without reading it first, pointing out that your work regulations are specified in the work agreement / contract (or whatever people call the papers you sign when you start working someplace) and that you would like to withdraw your agreement until you are able to consider it properly.

Then again, that depends on how your relationship with your boss is.
I would have told my boss to put it on the top of the pile of stuff he wants me to do (it's a rather special case, I know most don't have it that way)