LinkedIn Referral Policies Could Raise Legal Rift

Workforce.com
LinkedIn recommendations are a Catch-22 for companies: preventing employees from writing them could lead to dissent but allowing them raises legal concerns. By Ed Frauenheim
February 2011

The recommendations on LinkedIn pages are usually pretty straightforward: current and former business colleagues tout the person’s skills and experience.
But these online testimonials are anything but simple for companies. On one hand, allowing employees to write recommendations for current or former co-workers raises legal risks, especially for financial services firms. On the other hand, muzzling workers might smack of censorship and create resentment.
“Companies attempting to ban employees from writing LinkedIn recommendations are going to appear overly controlling and out of touch,” says Jennifer Benz, founder of San Francisco-based consulting firm Benz Communications. “Aside from being unnecessary and harsh, trying to enforce a policy like that is a poor use of resources.”

Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/section/recruiting-staffing/feature/linkedin-referral-policies-could-raise-legal-rift/index.html