The National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel has issued the third guidance document in the last ten months addressing social media activity by employees – one of the fastest developing areas of employment law.

After setting up a fake Facebook profile for her ex, Dana Thornton finds herself fighting a fourth-degree identity theft charge in New Jersey courts. Thornton tried to get the case dismissed because the statute makes no mention of electronic communications. The judge didn’t buy the argument, and on Wednesday, ruled the case will go forward.

Missouri has just passed a law prohibiting certain online communications between teachers and students. The Amy Hestir Student Protection Action aims to protect students from sexual abuse, but controvery surrounds a provision in the law reaching student and teacher social media usage and online activity.

The National Labor Relations Board has been increasingly involved in Facebook firings, and recently issued two more complaints against employers that fired employees in response to the employees’ Facebook posts.

Because more and more companies have become active on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, it is wise to review or update document retention polices to ensure the scope will cover such social media activity.