By Faatimah Jafiq and Ty Hyderally

November 24, 2024

Using social media to vent about work can be tempting, especially if you feel discriminated against by coworkers or employers. However, these posts can backfire, particularly if you decide to take legal action against your employer. Your social media activity can significantly impact your case.

Remember: The Internet Is Forever (TIIF).

Nothing you post online is ever truly deleted. Posts, comments, and even likes can become public information. This applies to social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, and Twitter, as well as messaging apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, and Messenger.

If You Have Personal Social Media Accounts:

• Enable Privacy Settings: For platforms like LinkedIn, you might want to keep some information public to attract potential employers. However, for personal platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, use privacy settings to control who sees your posts, comments, and likes.

If You Have Public Social Media Accounts:

• Post Cautiously: Always assume your employer can see your content. Avoid posting or engaging with anything that could jeopardize your job.

Once You Engage in Litigation:

• Thinking about changing your settings??… READ ON… Although you may be tempted to set all social media accounts to private mode, there is an abundance of developing case law that holds that just setting your account as private may not result in you avoiding having to disclose the posts to the other side. Further if you deactivate an account, this may also not insulate you from disclosure.
• Archive Relevant Posts: Save important posts in a separate folder on your cloud or computer. You want to preserve important information so that you can turn it over to your attorney to produce in the litigation.
• Consult Your Attorney: Discuss all online accounts with your attorney to determine what is relevant to your case.
• Provide All Communications: Share all relevant communications with your attorney.  This is always an issue as clients often forget the need and/or importance of sending the attorneys all communications.

Once You Engage in Litigation, DO NOT:

• Discuss the Case Publicly: Only discuss the case with your attorney. Settlement agreements often include confidentiality clauses, and breaching these can void the settlement.
• Post About the Case: Avoid posting anything related to the case. For example, if you claim disability discrimination but post about activities that contradict your claim, it could weaken your case.
• Tag or Call Out Parties: Do not tag your employer or mention any involved parties by name. Targeting individuals or companies could be considered harassment.
• Delete Posts: Deleting posts can be seen as evidence tampering, which is a federal crime.
• Accept Unknown Friend Requests: Be cautious about accepting friend or follow requests from unknown accounts.
• Allow Others to Post About the Case: Ensure friends and family do not post about the litigation or tag you in related posts.

En nuestra firma hablamos español. This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. This blog may constitute attorney advertising and is not intended to communicate with anyone in a jurisdiction where it may fail to comply with all laws and ethical rules.