Library: Policy

OKDHS:2-37-15. Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) employee personal Social Networking and Social Media (SNSM) use

Revised 8-1-14

(a) OKDHS employees may use personal SNSM.

(1) Only minimal, infrequent use of personal SNSM is permitted during work hours.
(2) OKDHS employees exercise caution when posting to personal SNSM sites. By virtue of position, they must consider whether published personal content may be misunderstood as expressing an official OKDHS position.
(3) When posting or commenting about human services and/or the state of Oklahoma on personal SNSM accounts, it is recommended employees post a disclaimer as a permanent part of any personal SNSM profile, such as "The postings on this site are my own and may not necessarily reflect or represent the opinions of my employer."
(4) Employees are responsible for all SNSM activity, including his or her postings on the sites and pages of others.
(5) Employees must comply with office or program directives regarding the issuance of invitations to friend or acceptance of invitations to friend individuals with whom the employee has a professional relationship by reason of OKDHS duties.

(b) Inappropriate or unbecoming SNSM usage by OKDHS employees may be grounds for disciplinary action per DHS:2-1-7.

(1) use a personal email address, not a OKDHS email address, for all personal SNSM accounts;
(2) ensure personal use of SNSM, including the language and topics of comments and posts, does not interfere with work commitments and accountabilities;
(3) never pretend to be someone else or use an anonymous profile when posting about human services, DHS, or state of Oklahoma business; and
(4) obtain written permission from the DHS Office of Communications to use the DHS logo on personal SNSM accounts.

(d) OKDHS employee SNSM activity may become part of an official investigation.