You may have seen that police departments and law-enforcement unions have been issuing warnings and offering social-media training to members recently, hoping to stop a recent tide of offensive posts by police officers and other employees. There’s apparently been a wide range of controversial posts, from disgruntled employees complaining about policies to threats and even some racist comments.
Which made me think about what’s being posted by employees of churches and nonprofit organizations.
There have been numerous cases where church or ministry employees complained online about their pastor’s message, a particular church policy, or other employees. Whatever the reason, it’s not positive – particularly when the general public sees them. It tends to toss the Biblical concept of “unity” out the window when local communities see church employees complain, disrespect, or criticize the church or its leaders.
Several major churches and ministry organizations have a social media policy in place, but not many. Besides, are those policies legal? Can a church censor those posts, or fire the employee? What about freedom of speech?
I asked my friend David Middlebrook, a highly respected attorney who focuses on church and nonprofit issues. Here’s David’s response:
“Recent court decisions add to a growing body of law that data posted on social media websites is not entitled to special legal protections. For example, the United States District Court of California noted that the content on social networking sites is not privileged or protected by common law. Mailhoit v. Home Depot USA, Inc., 285 285 F.R.D. 566 (C.D. Cal. 2012).
Every church should have handbooks signed by all of its employees, volunteers, and board members (“Staff”) that contain a Social Media Policy. This policy should communicate that the Staff is expected to live committed Christian lifestyles, and this obligation includes the use of social media. As such, the content on social media of a Staff should be consistent with Church teachings. Therefore, if in the opinion of appropriate church leadership, a Staff member’s postings on social media portrays images, ideas, or lifestyles inconsistent with Church teachings, then it is grounds for discipline up to and including termination.”
I’m not an attorney so I recommend you contact David’s team here if you have any specific questions. But the bottom line is that for churches and ministry organizations, there’s hope. I wouldn’t worry about the occasional comment, but if you’re getting employees regularly posting negative comments about your church or ministry on social media, you now have options to pursue.
And if you have questions about creating a social media policy for your team, we’d be happy to help.
This article originally appeared on PhilCooke.com and is reposted here by permission.
