07-08-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City staff generally has the right to speak pubiloly as private Citizens on "matters of publio concern," Such speech, even if made in the workplace or as part o&official duties, may be constitutionally proteoted if the interests of the employee, in commenting upon matters of public concern, outweighs a city's interests in promoting the efficiency of the public services it perforans through its employees, Be oaroful to balance these interests before taking any action against an employee for the content of the speech he/she publicizes on social media sites, of course, not everything is defined as a matter of pubilo concern — comments on private matters with no hxnpaot on the greater pubilo generally are not oonsldered protected speech, Cities should consult with their oity attorneys as appropriate on this issue, Staff never has the right to reveal non-publlo or private data, Etiquette guidelines for staff who use social media on a personal basis might include; • Account Names. Personal social media account names should be not be tied to the city, This will help clarify that the individual is not speaking officially on behalf of the city, For example, the personal Twitter account for John Doe, the Mosquito Heights Publio Works Director, should be just "JohnDoe," his Paoebook page "John Doe's" and so on, Staff interested in using social media offiolally on behalf of the city should talk with their supervisor. • Mind the law, existing city policies and gnidalines. Individuals who usepersonal soolal media accounts are not immune from the law, or from the need to follow existing city policies and guidelines related to harassment prevention, media relations, computer use and other policies the oity may have adopted, Individuals should be encouraged to refrain from uploading, posting, transmitting or making available content known to be false, misleading or fraudulent. They should be encouraged not to post photos that infringe on trademark, copyright or patent rights of others, Individuals never have the right to post non-public and confidential information such as information related to coworkers, personnel data, medical information, chins or lawsuits against the city, Individuals should not use city -owned equipment to post to personal sites content that violates existing city policies, that exhibits hate, bias, disorimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content, Individuals should be encouraged to post to personal sites only that content which Is suitable for readers and viewers of all ages, What about elected officials who use social media? Same elected officials already use blogs, mloroblogs, Casebook and other social media to connect with constituents and to promote political agendas. This is a reasonable use of soelal media, but eleoted officials should not use official city social media sites for campaigning purposes, just as they would not use the offiolal oity website or newsletter for campaigning, Page 9 of 12