Preventing Blogorrhea

     It seems like you can't pick up a newspaper these days without reading about someone being reprimanded for something they posted online. Perhaps it's the story of the Delta flight attendant who was fired over job-related content on her personal blog. Or the sad tales of recent college graduates who can't find employment because potential employers keep reading their MySpace profiles. Recently, a Pennsylvania paramedic was terminated by her employer due to her blog postings, and a New York paramedic received a $225,000 settlement related to criminal investigations of his off-duty Internet activities.

     Blogs are only one of the myriad ways in which people exchange information on the Internet. Unfortunately, while creating and posting Web content was once limited to those with superior technical knowledge, it can now be accomplished by anyone with the savvy to get on the 'Net in the first place. This has led to an enormous proliferation of unedited, free-form content on the Internet in the form of things like blogs, personal Web pages and message board debates.

     To say the legal landscape in this area is complex is an understatement. Not only is the state of the law unclear, it evolves on a daily basis and differs significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It would be impossible to give a reasonable overview of Internet law here, so let me just suggest you contact a local attorney who specializes in this area when developing policies for employees posting on blogs and other Internet sites.

     The biggest issue facing EMS managers in this area is how to develop guidelines for employees who blog off-duty. You may consider developing an official department-sponsored blog, where postings are more easily monitored and controlled. This may provide an outlet for some employees, but it will certainly not completely eliminate off-duty blogging. For that reason, your department needs a clear set of guidelines for what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate information for employees to post on their blogs.

     You can't control everything employees might post off-duty. Information critical of the agency, especially a public agency, may very well be considered valuable speech and thereby be protected from sanction. Then again, it's extremely clear that patient-specific information-including names, addresses, call details and especially photographs and videos-should be prohibited on any employee blog or posting. Posting such information would almost certainly violate numerous laws.

     Here are some guidelines on policy development for EMS managers in the area of content on private websites:

1. Have a policy in place in advance-do not try to close the barn door after this horse has left the stable. All you need is one case in the media to cause your department a host of problems.
2. Consult with an attorney in your area who specializes in this type of law during the development of your policy.
3. Ensure that once your policy is developed, every single employee receives and signs for a copy of it. Consider hosting a Q&A session with employees to discuss the guidelines and their ramifications.
4. Policies should prevent the publishing of any patient-specific information, including but not limited to names, addresses, telephone numbers, call locations and medical information.
5. Policies should prevent the publishing of any photographs, audio files or videos involving any aspects of any emergency responses. Given the availability of cell phones with cameras, it is virtually certain that someone on every call can record what happens. No recording of any kind should be permitted without the prior approval of management. In that case the use of any recorded images or files should be controlled by management.
6. Policies should prevent disparaging comments from being made by employees about other employees, especially those based on race, gender, religion, ethnic origin and/or sexual orientation.
7. Review your existing policies and talk to your attorney about how much you can limit disparaging comments about your agency. It will probably be difficult to limit these types of comments, but you might have some leeway depending on what type of agency you are (government vs. private) and what your local laws are. You may be able to incorporate this under "conduct unbecoming" if your guidelines are clear enough. However, be aware that you may run afoul of whistleblower statutes that protect individuals who bring illegal activity to light.
8. Make sure the penalties for violations are clearly set forth in advance.
9. Develop a system for identifying and monitoring employees' off-duty blogs and postings. Make sure the system isn't arbitrary or discriminatory, but try to be proactive. You'll never find every statement by every employee, but you'll send the message to employees that you're looking at what they're posting. Remember, the Internet is a public place-you're allowed to read what others post in public forums.

     One last note on this subject: Supervisors and management are different from line employees in this area. Managers may find blogs to be useful tools for distributing information, especially to staff and sometimes to the general community. However, it is easy to get sucked into arguments online that you wouldn't normally engage in. This behavior is inappropriate for countless reasons. Someone once said you should never get into a shouting match with an idiot because people often get confused about who the idiot is! Remember this adage when you're engaging in online dialogue that's visible to the general public.

Matthew R. Streger, JD, MPA, NREMT-P, is an associate at Hoyt & Hoyt in Morristown, NJ, and a paramedic at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth, NJ. He is a graduate of Seton Hall University Law School, Clemson University and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He has more than 20 years of EMS experience and is a member of EMS Magazine's editorial advisory board.