Fenwick employment lawyer Sheeva Ghassemi-Vanni was quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle story titled “Don’t Text ;-) to Your Co-Worker; It Could Be Considered Harassment.” The article discussed the need for caution when using emoji in workplace communication, noting that their potential ambiguity may lead to misunderstanding and possible litigation.
“In Silicon Valley, we think of ourselves as being very politically correct, but as things get more and more casual there’s more of a likelihood that you can say something offensive,” Ghassemi-Vanni told the Chronicle.
“We’re already seeing this become a problem where (lawyers) have to come in and figure out what an emoji means, what they were trying to say and what someone else thought they said. It’s a problem.”
Read the full article through the San Francisco Chronicle website.