In Macon, Ga., five firefighters for the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department staged a hoax shooting in the firehouse, using a phony armed invader and a firecracker to simulate a gunshot. They posted the video, which was intended as a prank on rookies, on YouTube in September. The video spread quickly, prompting a public outcry.
“We work very hard, very diligently, to maintain our proper place inside this community as a respected organization,” Macon-Bibb Fire Chief Marvin Riggins said during a press conference.
In 2006, 18-year-old Nikki Catsouras died in a grisly car wreck in Orange County, Calif. Just days after her death, Nikki’s father, Christos Catsouras, received an e-mailed photo of his dead daughter, captioned with “Woohoo Daddy! Hey daddy, I’m still alive.” An investigation later revealed that the images were taken as part of a fatal accident response and had been improperly shared by California Highway Patrol employees; they soon went viral. Though the family has launched a years-long legal battle to have the images pulled from websites, they’re still out there, on porn and other sites devoted to death and violence.
And in Staten Island, N.Y., a family sued Facebook and former EMT Mark Musarella late last year after he uploaded crime scene photos of a 26-year-old murder victim. Musarella pleaded guilty to “official misconduct” and lost his job. His lawyer was quoted in the New York Post as saying that Musarella had posted the pictures accidentally while uploading other shots.
From social networks to Twitter to smart phones, technology is transforming the way we communicate. Thoughts, images and videos can be posted instantaneously and spread throughout communities—even the globe—in moments. For EMS workers who are both privy to some of life’s most dramatic moments and legally required to uphold patient privacy, the pervasiveness of the technology poses particular challenges.
“Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, and that poses major problems for EMS agencies and EMS providers,” says paramedic Steve Wirth, an attorney at Page, Wolfberg & Wirth in Mechanicsburg, Pa. “The openness and the immediacy of things that get posted and shown on Facebook and other social media outlets can directly oppose the interests of patient privacy and the interests of the organization that has a reputation to maintain. And that sometimes conflicts with the individual’s belief that they can say or do whatever they want on Facebook or other social networking sites without any ramifications.”
To deal with it, experts say it’s imperative that EMS organizations consult with an attorney to put into place a social media and personal electronic devices policy, one that covers both on- and off-duty behavior. EMS managers also should consider the following when implementing such a policy.
1. Employees must use company-issued recording equipment. EMS workers are sometimes called on to take accident scene photos for use in training or court cases, or to show to surgeons. One way of making sure those photos don’t get misused is to require that images or videos be taken only with company-issued cameras and not with personal devices. Supervisors should also be mandated to keep track of that equipment, says Wirth, who has written many such policies for EMS agencies.
The policy should also clearly spell out under what circumstances those photos may be taken, advises Greg Friese, co-founder of PIOSocialMediaTraining.com.
2. Have a serious talk with your employees. It’s vital that you have a discussion with your employees about why such a policy is needed, according to Wirth. “Firefighters and EMS personnel are in this business to help their fellow human beings, but they also enjoy going on the exciting calls, such as the unusual patient situation or an extrication,” he says. “Sometimes they forget that their high is someone else’s low point.”
3. Consider personnel issues. Any policy that you institute needs to cover potential personnel issues that can come up as a result of social network use. For example, Wirth’s firm, which specializes in EMS-related issues, was recently involved in a situation in which an EMS supervisor was harassing a fellow EMS worker by posting suggestive messages on her Facebook page. To avoid any suggestion of impropriety, supervisors should think twice before they “friend” their underlings on social networks, Wirth says.
In another situation that came to be known as the “Facebook Firing Case,” American Medical Response of Connecticut allegedly terminated an employee for posting negative comments about her boss. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) took up the cause, claiming that the company had overly broad rules in its employee handbook governing blogging, Internet posting and communication between employees.
AMR eventually agreed to revamp its rules, including not to discipline or fire employees for engaging in discussions about wages and other work issues when not on the job, according to the NLRB.
4. Navigate free-speech issues carefully. Though Wirth says there was more to the AMR case than meets the eye, he adds that in general, employers need to remember that employees have a right to free speech, which includes some ability to criticize their employer and express their views about their workplace.
Still, there are limits to that. Employees can’t use speech or conduct on social networking that is slanderous, defamatory or “undefensively disloyal to the employer,” that would harm the organization’s reputation, or that is discriminatory, reveals patient information or discusses a call inappropriately, Wirth says.
“There is no unfettered right to blatantly complain or take shots at your boss,” he says. “Employers just have to be careful that they have a policy that makes it clear the intent is not to interfere with individuals’ rights of free speech.”
And yet some aspects of laws regarding social networking and other online communication, particularly regarding off-duty conduct, remain a gray area. The legal system is still playing catch-up with the technology, which is why groups like the NLRB are wrestling with cases like the Facebook firing, according to Wirth. “What’s shared online is not the same as the whisper talk at the water cooler at the office,” he says. “The impact is much broader, and the law has not had to deal with this stuff until very recently.”
Despite potential issues with misuse, employers should also recognize that social media presents opportunities. There are ways to harness social media to your advantage, according to Friese. “In general, you should use it to communicate your value to your community,” he says, “what you are doing well, what you are proud of, what you want to make sure people know about you.”
