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.

William Hallowell worked in the library of a private school in New York City. He was having a work-related e-mail exchange with his supervisor when something went awry:

The manager mistakenly sent one of the messages to a wrong address that was similar to Hallowell’s.

The owner of that address sent back a long response that included racist remarks, sexual language, a mention about using prostitutes and a statement about buying a gun. Assuming the e-mail was from Hallowell, the library director called police and had him detained.

He spent more than 30 hours behind bars while trying to prove the e-mail didn’t come from him. After being released, it took him three months to have all the charges dropped.

Hallowell sued the city’s police department and was recently awarded a $25,000 in a settlement. No legal action has been taken against his employer.

Read the facts of this real-life case and decide: Who won?

The facts:

An employee got in a dispute with his neighbors after their son allegedly urinated in the employee’s yard. In retaliation, the employee began a series of attacks on the neighbors. Among other things, he ordered magazine subscriptions to be sent to their house, made harassing phone calls and used the Internet to dig up disparaging information about them.

Police traced the activity to the employee’s work computer and company-owned cell phone. Since the conduct occurred at work, the neighbors sued the company for negligence.

The employer said:

The company said it had a policy against personal use of its computer, and if a manager knew what had happened, the man would’ve been fired. But since no one was aware of what was going on, the company couldn’t be held liable.

Who won the case?

Answer: The employer.

Why: The court agreed that just because the company provided the employee with a computer and a cell phone didn’t mean it could have expected any harassment of this type to occur.

To be sued for negligence, the company would need to have a reasonable expectation that something unlawful was going to happen. The case was thrown out.

Cite: Sigler v. Kobinsky

Three problems companies have heard complaints about:

1. Harassment

In some cases, employees have been caught snapping pictures of female co-workers and distributing them around the office. That’s an obvious harassment issue that must be dealt with swiftly if complaints are made, or the conduct is discovered by manager.

Lawyers also warn about services that deliver pornography straight to a user’s cell phone. Courts have ruled that the presence of porn in the workplace can be enough to constitute a hostile work environment in violation of the law.

2. Privacy

Recently, two employees at a New Mexico hospital were fired after they snapped pictures of patients on their camera phones and posted them on the Internet.

Similar situations have been reported at other hospitals, as well as other types of businesses.

3. Data security

One way rogue employees and other hackers steal confidential data about companies, employees and customers is to steal the electronic files.

But when security controls make that impossible, another method is to just snap a picture of the desired information. Make sure confidential papers are locked up and electronic files are password-protected.

As much as e-mail has helped corporate communication, it’s also opened the doors to new legal risks for employers. Here are some common mistakes both managers and Human Resources pros make that can get their companies in serious trouble.

One problem with e-mail is that it creates permanent electronic evidence that can be used in harassment, bias and other lawsuits.

The role of e-mail as evidence in litigation has been increasing since the federal courts’ new “e-discovery” rules went into effect in December of 2006. About 24% of companies have had e-mail subpoenaed, according to a recent survey by the American Management Association.

What’s more, 15% have fought cases directly triggered by something an employee or manager said in an e-mail.

Here are some of the common mistakes that can lead to those lawsuits, courtesy of attorney Mindy Chapman, who spoke at this year’s Society for Human Resources Management Annual Conference:

• Sending dirty forwards — This one’s a no-brainer for HR — but a full 60% of e-mail users admit to having sent adult content at work. And, as many companies have found out, that’s an easy way to end up in with a harassment suit.
• Using “smoking gun” phrases — In some court cases, e-mails have turned up with phrases like “Delete this e-mail” and “Should we get a legal review?” Managers should be reminded that e-mail can’t really ever be erased, and sensitive legal issues can wait for an in-person discussion.
• Complaining about protected activities — Managers can sometimes make casual comments that look like evidence of retaliation (i.e., “I can’t believe she’s taking leave again.”). If the employee in question is ever disciplined or fired for a legitimate reason, that evidence will be hard to argue against.
• Not printing out key messages — E-mail evidence can protect employers, too. Printing out important e-mails and adding to them to personnel folders can help beef up your documentation. Also, sneaky employees might be able doctor messages to make it look like you or a manager said something you didn’t. Having your own hard copy of the real e-mail can offer extra protection.
• Forwarding an attorney’s advice — E-mails between you and your company’s lawyer are covered by the attorney-client privilege — until they’re forwarded to other people. If you think someone else needs to see the message, ask the lawyer to send a copy from his or her own address.

What should HR pros do? Usually, those mistakes are the result of managers letting their guard down and saying things over e-mail they wouldn’t say elsewhere. But they should be reminded that every time they write an e-mail, they’re writing a permanent legal document.

More e-mail etiquette mistakes

Aside from messages that scream “Please sue me,” some e-mail goofs just cause major resentment or minor irritation. Some other mistakes managers should avoid:

• Giving negative feedback — About 17% of managers admit to using e-mail to avoid difficult conversations. Given how easily written messages can be misinterpreted, bosses need to know when to talk face-to-face with an employee.
• Sounding too urgent — What do most employees think when their boss sends an e-mail saying, “Come to my office ASAP?” Odds are, it’s that they’re in serious trouble. Managers should be more gentle when trying to get someone’s attention — or pick up the phone.
• Using sarcasm — It’s easy for a written message to sound much more insulting than the writer intended. Always read everything before it’s sent to see how it’ll sound to the recipient.
• Ignoring the trash can — No spam filters are alike, and all are fallible. The spam folder should be checked periodically to see if any important messages have been mis-categorized.

The latest Web site racking up hits at workplaces across the country: annoyingcoworker.com

Here’s how it works: Workers log on and post their rants on the site. They also have the option of sending the complaint to the offender through e-mail (the sender’s address is disguised).

Some of the highlights of what’s posted:

• “Hey, lookie lookie, you broke the photocopier AGAIN and just walked away like nothing happened!”
• “Stop whistling you freaking MORON!!!”
• “PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to the dentist!!”
• “If you are SO unhappy in your job then leave! No one wants you here anyway! All you do all day long is bitch about how you could find a better paying job some where else. Well you know what? No you can’t.”

Anonymous ranting could be harmless, but once people get e-mails about their own behavior, it could cause problems — especially if the messages contain anything that resembles harassment or discrimination. HR pros might want to keep an eye out for complaints about this sort of thing if it catches on.

Many companies set up internal message boards on their intranets as a way for employees to communicate. Much like the traditional cork message boards in break rooms, they give people a way to share information with co-workers in a public place.

But some lawyers warn employers about the potential problems with all that electronic sharing. Possible areas of liability include:

1. Harassing or defamatory comments on the message board
2. The sharing of confidential information with unauthorized co-workers, and
3. Issues related to union solicitation.

Avoid problems

If your company uses an internal message board, you can help keep legal issues at bay by having a policy on what is acceptable to post (i.e., nothing discriminatory, harassing, confidential, etc.). Employees should be reminded of the policy each time they log on to the system.

Also, the content should be monitored regularly, and complaints about the use of the board must be addressed effectively.

Read more about internal company message boards in the National Law Journal.

Have your managers ever had to fire someone for reading dirty Web sites or sending racy e-mails? If not, they might need to pay closer attention.

More than 50% of companies have had to fire employees for misusing e-mail or the Web, according to a recent survey by the American Management Association (AMA).

Most of the managers surveyed said porn or other inappropriate content was the culprit. Other cases just involved employees who were wasting too much time.

Same goes for e-mail — in many cases, employees were fired for using offensive language, while others were sending too many personal messages. Other employees were canned because they sent confidential info to the wrong people.

Keep a close watch?

One thing that mean: A lot of companies are watching what their employees are doing with their computers.

Why are they paying close attention? There are a few reasons companies monitor computer and e-mail use and strictly enforce policies. Three of the big ones:

• Avoiding lawsuits – Companies have been sued for sexual harassment and discrimination because of the presence of pornography in the workplace, or because employees forwarded e-mails with racial or sexual jokes.
• Conserving resources – Watching online videos or streaming music takes up valuable bandwidth and makes the Web slower for employees who are actually trying to do work.
• Protecting against viruses – Stopping employees from visiting seedy Web sites or downloading content is one step toward keeping viruses off the company’s network.

There are also reasons companies avoid placing strict controls or monitoring use too closely. Obviously, some types of surfing have no place in the office. But many employers are reluctant to restrict all personal use as long as people are getting their jobs done.

What to do?

There’s no easy answer, but here are some things to consider when deciding how to handle employees and their computers:

HR and IT need to cooperate – IT doesn’t always the know the legal risks workplace technology poses, just as HR might not understand all the technical difficulties caused by excessive surfing. For a policy to work, the departments need to communicate with each other.

Managers need to watch performance – If someone’s wasting too much time online, it’s likely the symptom of a problem, rather than a problem in itself. Managers have to distinguish between employees who use the Internet to take a break from working hard, and those who use it to avoid working at all.

Complaints must be handled quickly – If someone brings a complaint about pornography or offensive e-mail, it must be dealt with immediately. Those are just as lawsuit-worthy as other forms of harassment, but can be even more dangerous since they create permanent electronic evidence.