35. Privacy and Publicity

"Our work to improve privacy continues today."
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO, Facebook

Read our Newsletters and Q & A’s:

i. Privacy: Keep Your Life Private

  1. NL 1: Email at Work – Avoid These “Dozen Digital Disasters”
  2. NL 2: Why Sending Your Resume To a “Headhunter” Can Cost You Dearly
  3. QA 1: “What can I tell prospective employers about my secret government work?”
  4. QA 2: Can I report something to HR and ask them to keep it confidential?
  5. QA 3: “How do I explain job loss after a personal tragedy made me lose focus?”
  6. QA 4: “I’m interviewing for a new job, and I’m three months pregnant. Do I have any obligation to tell my interviewers?”
  7. QA 5: “When interviewing for a new job, if I am asked about my pending lawsuit against my former employer, what do I say?”

ii. Privacy: Stop Employers Prying into Your Life

  1. QA 1: “Can a prospective employer ask if I smoke, or if I have a mortgage?”
  2. QA 2: “Can an employer insist that an employee’s Facebook page name an employer-representative as a “friend” so it can be closely monitored?”
  3. QA 3: “What happens if a prospective employer I’m interviewing with contacts my present employer? Should I let them?”
  4. QA 4: “Are prospective employers limited in what they can ask a former employer about you, and is the former employer limited in what it can say?”
  5. QA 5: “Can my employer contact another company to find out if I have interviewed with them?”

iii. Privacy: Make Employers Keep Your Secrets

  1. QA 1: “Can an employer insist that an employee’s Facebook page name an employer-representative as a “friend” so it can be closely monitored?”
  2. QA 2: “Can employers require medical information from job applicants?”
  3. QA 3: “Can I trust Human Resources to keep things confidential?”
  4. QA 4: “I’m retiring; can I ask my boss to keep that confidential?”
  5. QA 5: “If an agency introduces me to an employer, can I take a different job directly with the employer?”
  6. QA 6: “Is it an invasion of privacy if incidents involving employees are reported company-wide, including employees’ names?”
  7. QA 7: “What can an ex-employer say about an ex-employee?”
  8. QA 8: “I took a FMLA leave of absence, and my boss told people of my medical problem. What should I do?”
  9. QA 9: Can a future employer find out I was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (called a “PIP”)?
  10. QA 10: “Can my former employer claim to be the author of a magazine article I wrote as part my duties?”
  11. QA 11: “How can I stop my resume from being used for unauthorized purposes?”

iv. Publicity: Control Your Name, Voice, Picture, etc.

  1. QA 1: “Can I stop my former employer from using my voice on its answering service?”
  2. QA 2: “Do employees have a right of free speech?”
  3. QA 3: “Former Employer Still Using My Name in Emails – Do I Have Any Recourse?”


“If you live your life the right way,
your later years will not be a winter,
but rather a harvest.”

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