As blogging becomes more popular, it’s likely there are at least a few people at your company who’ve taken up the hobby. Most employees’ blogs are harmless — but occasionally, they’ll write about work. That’s where the trouble starts.

In the case of an insulted co-worker, here are some things to keep in mind when deciding how to respond:

• Harassment rules still apply. An employee’s blog can create a “hostile work environment” just like any other type of communication between employees, managers and co-workers.
• You can forbid employees from blogging about the company, especially when there are insults involved, or confidential information might be leaked.

That said, there are some things you can’t keep employees from writing. The National Labor Relations Act gives employees the right to discuss their salaries and working conditions.

In one recent court case, an employee sued after he was punished for criticizing company management in his blog. The court ruled against the company, deciding that the blog was protected speech under the NLRA (Cite: Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.).

Have you ever gotten complaints about a co-worker’s personal blog? How did you handle it? What would you do if you did get a complaint like that? Let us know in the comments section below.

While most companies might look at blogging on the job as a productivity-wasting activity, Federal agencies have other worries. If the blogging is political, it could be a violation of the Hatch Act, which is aimed at keeping government agencies from influencing elections.

Apparently, the NASA employee hadn’t read the law. He blogged, sent e-mail and solicited contributions for candidates on the job using his work e-mail and computer.

“There was time when the Hatch Act was about wearing campaign buttons in the office, or engaging in political activity while on duty, wearing an official uniform, or in a government vehicle,” said Special Counsel Scott Bloch. “Today, modern office technology multiplies the opportunities for employees to abuse their positions and, as in this serious case, to be penalized, even removed from their job, with just a few clicks of a mouse.”

No details about the political affiliation of the suspended employee were released in the Special Counsel’s announcement of the incident, which you can read here.

As if you need more headaches, new technology’s making it even harder to guard against lawsuits. Here’s one company that’s getting dragged into court because of an employee’s private, at-home online activity.

An employee at software firm Cisco wrote an anonymous blog, which he used to criticize patent lawyers. He stepped over the line when he wrote particularly disparaging comments about two attorneys involved in a suit against Cisco.

They found out the author’s identity, and they’re suing him for defamation. They’re also suing Cisco, despite the fact that the blog was personal, written from the employee’s home and never mentioned any affiliation with the company.

Why’s the employer being blamed? Allegedly, the employee’s supervisor knew what he was writing, and never told him to stop.

Blogging policies: What you can do …

This case shows the increasing need for employers to write policies regarding Web use — even activities that occur outside the workplace. A helpful strategy might be to remind employees they can never be truly anonymous when they write online. Other keys to an effective policy:

• No blogging at work. You can’t control everything employees do, but you can tell them how they’re allowed to use the company’s time and property.
• Harassment rules apply to online communication. If someone would be punished for saying something in person, they can be punished for saying it online, too.
• No leaking confidential information or trade secrets.
• People should not identify themselves as agents of the company or imply that they represent the company’s views. (Cisco wrote a new policy requiring employees who blog to include a disclaimer that their opinions aren’t indicative of the company’s.)

… and what you can’t

There are limits to what employers can restrict. For example, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees the right to discuss pay and working conditions — and that protection applies to blogs, too.

In one case, an employee was fired after writing a blog that criticized company management and union leadership. He sued, claiming his writing was protected under the NLRA. The court agreed and the company lost the case (Cite: Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.).

Also, check your states’ laws. Some prohibit disciplining employees over political speech, or for legal, private activities.

An IT employee at Chrysler found out the company was getting rid of hundreds of tech jobs, in favor of outsourcing. Assuming he was about to be canned, he started posting comments on the Web site of the Detroit Free Press.

Among them was a statement telling people to boycott Chrysler and inviting them to “e-mail Nardelli and tell him what a great job he is doing” – and then listing CEO Rob Nardelli’s e-mail address.

After Nardelli’s Blackberry started lighting up and the company found out why, the employee was fired. The official reason: for breaking the company’s policy against leaking confidential information online.

Here’s a lesson

Whether or not and e-mail address can be considered confidential is open for debate, but as this story shows, it isn’t hard for a disgruntled employee to use the Web for something disruptive.

Companies should have policies prohibiting certain online activity – most importantly, leaking sensitive information. Otherwise, it can be difficult to fire or discipline if it ever happens.