Social media workshops scheduled

POST FALLS - The Idaho Department of Labor is sponsoring free workshops for Idaho businesses and job seekers on the legal issues surrounding social media in the workplace.

"WorkingSocial," for businesses, will be held on May 8 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Post Falls Labor office, 600 N. Thornton St.

The workshop for job seekers is May 7 from 1-5 p.m. at the same office.

Space is limited. To learn more and register, go to labor.idaho.gov/WorkingSocial.

At the business workshops, Lisa McGrath, a lawyer specializing in social media law, and Justin Foster, co-founder of Klowd.com and creator of SlideKlowd, a cloud-based presentation platform, will discuss the legalities of using social media to find employees, conduct background checks, managing account ownership and ensuring company social media policies comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

For job seekers, McGrath and Foster will offer tips for using social media to find work and examine job seekers' rights surrounding social media in the workplace and the technical aspects of maintaining professional and personal profiles.

A local panel of businesses, human resource professionals and job seekers will share best practices for using social media to find employees, find a job and manage social media use in the workplace.

McGrath's new media law firm focuses on solving legal problems involving social media, the Internet, marketing, advertising, e-commerce, mobile apps, privacy and technology. Foster is a social media marketing professional.

The workshops are part of a multi-state pilot initiative to improve the social media experience for workers, job seekers and employers.