Our team of experts fields real-life, everyday questions from HR managers and gives practical answers that can be applied by any HR pro in the same situation. Today’s issue: Putting employees’ photos on the company website.
The question
Like a lot of firms, we feature photos of some of our staff on our company website. But we heard recently that doing so can get us in trouble. Is that true?
The answer
Yes, featuring staffers’ photos without permission might qualify as an invasion of privacy, says Alan Kaplan, chair of private practice group Masuda Funai.
Courts have ruled that privacy laws protect people from having their images used for commercial purposes without their consent.
If you want to include photos of your staff online:
- examine your publications to see which employees’ photos are being used, and
- put together a written consent form that, once signed by staff, gives you permission to post their photo on your website, in your catalogue and in publicity materials.
