Many companies have policies covering Internet use, email, cell phones and other technologies. But does your company have a policy covering blogs? If not, you need to consider it. Kevin O’Keefe of LexBlog posted an interesting article that appeared in Scotland’s National Newspaper regarding the need for companies to rewrite their employment contracts to cover blogs.
In Iowa, most employers hire employees on an "at will" basis rather than through an employment contract. Accordingly, it is generally more applicable that Iowa employers consider rewriting their employee handbooks to cover blogs rather than employment contracts.
Like O’Keefe, I am not attempting to discourage blogging but it is definitely important for businesses to look before they leap with blogs. Another issue is what happens if an employee writes derogatory remarks on a Web site unrelated to the employer. It may cause nothing more than a minor embarrassment, but at worst, it has the potential to affect the company’s entire corporate image.
You should consider contacting your employment lawyer to conduct a review of your employee handbook policies to see if you have adequately considered the issues involved with the blogging phenomenon.