How Facebook Can Make or Break Your Case

Recently, in EEOC v. Simply Storage Management, a federal court permitted an employer to obtain discovery of an employee's social networking activity that, through privacy settings, the employee had made "private" and not available to the general public.


That makes sense, right? I have yet to see a tweet or a Facebook status update appear on a privilege log.

So, as part of discovery, an employer should consider requesting:

All online profiles, postings, messages (including, without limitation, tweets, replies, retweets, direct messages, status updates, wall comments, groups joined, activity streams, and blog entries), photographs, videos, and online communications that:

1. refer or relate to the allegations set forth in the complaint;

2. refer or relate to any facts or defenses raised in the answer;

3. reveal, refer or relate to any emotion, feeling, or mental state; or

4. reveal, refer, or relate to events that could reasonably be expected to produce a significant emotion, feeling, or mental state.

IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS: SUBPOENAS, SPOLIATION



http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202463917586

http://ohioemploymentlaw.blogspot.com/2010/06/more-on-discovery-of-social-networks.html

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/2701.html

ISP subpoena addresses

http://www.search.org/programs/hightech/isp/

Sample Written Consent

http://forthedefense.org/file.axd?file=2010%2f5%2fLinked+In+Release+Form+20100521.pdf