With social media integrated into our lives and workplace and the line between the two blurred, employers are looking to safeguard their company with morality clauses for new hires.
One of our law students, Sarah Nadon, goes over the importance of morality clauses, what to look out for and what to include.
A morality clause within a contract is often used as a means of holding an individual to a certain behavioural standard so as not to bring a scandal to the other party. Morality clauses attempt to preserve the public and private image of one of the contracting parties. These clauses have traditionally been included in the contracts of professional athletes and celebrities; however, they are becoming more common in general employment contracts.
Notably, morality clauses have become more prominent in employment agreements as social media platforms give employees the power to publish their thoughts and intimate details of their social lives. Morality clauses provide employers with a contractual escape. The benefits for the employer include the ability to terminate the employee with cause, restricting the employee to limited pay and no other compensation. While offering benefits to the employer, morality clauses come with downfalls. There is always a risk that including morality clauses in employment agreements can be off-putting to future employees, especially if the employer is attempting to attract talent from highly competitive fields.
Companies should consider the following to ensure the morality clause they choose to insert into their contract serves their purpose:
• Consider including a disclosure provision that requires the individual who is endorsing the company to disclose any past conduct that can affect the contracting party’s reputation and by extension, the brand;
• Define the acts which could be seen as damaging to your company’s image, and outline specific examples that could trigger the morality clause;
• Outlining the rights of the company if the morality clause is triggered as termination of the other party may not be enough to stem the collateral damage to the brand.
Once a morality clause is in place, the company should take measures to ensure the monitoring of the contracted party’s social media and their online influence as well as the public’s response to the party.
While companies’ and employees’ morals and values change over time, the company should also provide the possibility to amend the morality clause in the contract to conform with these changes.
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