Watch out, boss: There's legal liability in lauding others on LinkedIn

It seems a feel-good, paying-forward type of gesture to give a former employee a thumbs up at LinkedIn, the popular business networking site. But corporate attorneys say it could backfire big time. Glowing comments on the site could be turned against them by employees purportedly let go for performance-related reasons, the suits say.

"It's probably only a matter of time" before an employee turns to a judge or jury, points to a LinkedIn posting and says "here's the proof" that he or she was wrongfully terminated, says management-side attorney Wayne E. Pinkstone.

The sad part is that employers might genuinely be trying to help someone downsized out of a job, or ease their own consciences about a difficult choice they had to make.

LinkedIn is apparently the tool of choice for employers researching job candidates' credentials. Three quarters of hiring managers survived in a recent pool said they use it to scope out candidates. Others say they use Facebook or Twitter.

In fact, just about any corporate lawyer will tell you: List the dates of employment, positions with the company and salary, and that's it. Anything else, negative or positive, could become legal ammo.

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email this

Comments (1) add comment

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Gina Gaffney said:

	... As a Director, I NEVER give positive feedback ANYWHERE unless the person deserved it. If I have nothing good to say about someone, all I give are dates, position, and salary. Sometimes, I'll be asked the general Q: Would you rehire this person?
	report abuse vote down vote up